On Sunday night, November 16, 2003, patrons at the Norva were entertained by the sensual lyrics of Wayne Wonder. Even though Wayne Wonder was born Von Wayne Charles on July 26, 1972 in Buff Bay, Portland, he acquired his stage name from playing soccer. He says he was "like a dead-ball specialist" so they called him Wayne Wonder and the name crossed over into his music. Wayne Wonder has been around the reggae scene making hits since the 1980’s, and finally gained worldwide attention with his latest hit, "No Letting Go." Wayne Wonder opened the show with, "Searching Dem Searching" and the crowd cheered with excitement as he danced across the stage. Then he was joined by his dancers, Tamara Wilkinson and Princess Mhoon Cooper both from New York. They really steamed up the crowd with their sultry moves as they danced across the stage and the band with their lively beat intensified the mood for the crowd.

As Wayne Wonder sang he was joined onstage by Showski Smith of Jamaica who sang the parts of Buju Banton and other artist who had previous performed with Wayne Wonder. They graced the stage with energy and zeal which hyped up the crowd. Some of the tracks performed were "Saddest Day", "Keep Them Coming", "Bounce Along", "Friend Like Me", and "Makes Me Wonder". He lightened the stage with his bright red and white leather jacket with Wonder studded along the arm and the number 7 on his jacket and pants legs. He was truly one of the wonders of the world as he performed. And even though the venue was not packed to capacity, those in attendance greeted him with open arms and he gave them a 100% performance. A few of my favorite tracks performed were "Watching You", "Keep Them Coming", and "Movie Star". He performed for about one hour and the crowd still seemed to want more.

Wayne Wonder was inspired to sing from his mother who sang in church. He lived in Kingston, Jamaica as a child, which exposed him to weekly Sunday night street dances. This exposure allowed him the creativity and inspiration to create the sounds we hear today. He has successfully crossed over to R&B with his hit " No Letting Go", which combines reggae and R&B in a soulful sound that we can all enjoy and Wayne has managed to keep the reggae connection and stays faithful to his heritage and roots.

Overall the show was a great success and if you were not there you missed a wicked performance.