The Dream had the women in la-la land during his performance.

Despite an abrupt end to Usain Bolt's 9.58 SuperParty last Saturday at Richmond Estate in St Ann, the two charities set to benefit from the show look in good stead of getting a slice of the sprinter's pie.

The Sherwood Content Health Centre and United Way of Jamaica will be the beneficiaries of the concert, which had a reasonably good turnout of patrons.

While saying it was too soon to give a figure on earnings, Bolt's manager Norman Peart said "everything is good." Major sponsorship which the event received would have helped offset expenses, helping Bolt towards his objective of purchasing the land that the health centre sits on and upgrading the facilities.

The health centre was previously given notice to relocate as the owners said they would be selling the property.

The unexpected halt to the event left many patrons disgruntled. When the show ended, several advertised acts, including Vybz Kartel who arrived late, were yet to perform.

Master of Ceremonies Richard 'Richie B' Burgess announced at 4:15 a.m., just after Tony Matterhorn had performed, that the police had informed the organisers that the two-hour extension granted beyond the regular 2 a.m. deadline for stage shows had expired and, as such, the show should end.

The unexpected announcement appeared to have stunned the patrons, most of whom stood their ground, before those on the fringes began to drift away.

Bolt later took the microphone and apologised to the patrons, who had paid between $2,000 and $7,500 each to attend the charity event. Kartel joined him onstage, gave some reasons for being late and after Bolt requested a song a cappella, he did one line before the microphone appeared to have lost power.

LATE START

The live show started well beyond the advertised 9:58 p.m. start, eventually kicking off at 11:12 p.m. with Oneil Peart singing the national anthem. Master of ceremonies for the first segment, Paula-Ann Porter-Jones then introduced dancer Mystic as the first act.

Several unadvertised acts performed, chief among them hip-hop superstar Ludacris. Others included Princess Tia from Rising Stars fame, Sophia Squire and Paul 'Lymie' Murray.

Apart from Kartel, Charlie Blacks, Kiprich, Jah Vinci, Blak Ryno, Gaza Kim, Lisa Hype and Merytal, who were all advertised, did not perform. It is unclear who else of the lot were present.

Those who performed did well for the most part although performances were short, with everyone performing on tracks.

Reggae queen Marcia Griffiths opened the show with I Shall Sing and when she left eight minutes later, she had sampled five of her biggest reggae hits, along with Dawn Penn's No, No, No.

Princess Tia did Free, her new single, Sophia Squire did two, Rat-a-tat-tat and It's Alright, before giving way to Nickeisha Barnes, fresh from performances in the Caribbean. She did well, pouring out Bob Marley's Turn Your Lights Down Low before turning on the charms in performing Tra-la-la-la (In love).

After a break for some awesome fireworks, Cherine Anderson continued the show of woman strength in the local entertainment business. She, too, did well, delivering three songs, ending with Ring the Alarm.

I-Octane was well received and Lymie Murray brought the experience.

Then the multi-talented Terius Nash, aka The Dream, appeared. His résumé is impressive. He has written, produced and/or recorded with some of the top names in the business, including Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Ciara, Usher, Lionel Richie, Keyshia Cole and others.

At the 9.58 SuperParty, wearing a black T-shirt depicting the 'Legend' (Bob Marley), Nash paid tribute to Usain Bolt and Jamaica. And he performed for 22 minutes, giving the crowd some of his hits, including My Love and Sweat it Out before closing with Rockin' That Thang.

G-Whizz was next to 'sort out' the show followed by D-Major and Christopher Martin. Martin, the 2005 Digicel Rising Stars winner, gave a performance that must have boosted his career. He and D-Major called up Bolt and the three had some real fun onstage; Bolt requesting a replay of Martin's Jacket. They closed with True Friends.

Rita Marley and members of the Marley family then presented Bolt with a citation and the sprinter in turn gave what appeared to be a bronze portrait of his signatory 'To The World' pose.

Konshens did well as expected but came up only after Jazzy T and Bill Cosby premiered a remix of his hit song Winner, featuring Bolt on vocals. The crowd loved it!

USAIN FAN

Not advertised, Ludacris was a surprise performer for most persons at the venue and said that he had to be there to support Bolt.

"I'm a Usain Bolt fan; he motivates me," Ludacris declared. He went onstage with a bottle of his own cognac in hand, opened with Number One Spot, moved through a few of his hits, including his latest How Low Can You Go before closing with Move with Usain on stage.

When Richie B took over from Porter-Jones, he brought on Tifa a few minutes after 2 a.m. She spent four minutes then gave way to VoiceMail who worked the stage like no one else that night.

Dancers Shady Squad, winners of THE STAR-sponsored dance competition promoting a new dance for Bolt, showed why they won, and the audience loved them.

About 2:45 a.m., DJ Usain took over the controls and despite some technical problems played some Beres Hammond, Charlie Blacks, Mavado, Vybz Kartel and some specials including two by Kartel, Last Man Standing and Wha Do Dem, and one by Aidonia.

Selectors Razz and Biggy, followed by Coppershot and ZJ Liquid, entertained the crowd for a while before Etana showed up, spent 10 minutes delivering her songs before giving way to Aidonia.

Ding Dong, riding a wave of success with his number-one hit Holiday, brought some joy to the venue as the audience rocked to the song. Elephant Man and Tony Matterhorn followed.

In-between the acts, Bolt invited Wallace Spearmon onstage to dance. Also on hand were Asafa Powell, Melaine Walker, Trinidadian sprinter Richard Thompson and Jermaine Gonzales, while Lady Saw and Ce'Cile were seen in the audience.

Etana was looking fabulous onstage as she went through her hits. - photos by Janet Silvera

Rita Marley presents a plaque to Usain Bolt at his 9.58 SuperParty at Richmond Estate, St Ann, last Saturday night. - photos by Janet Silvera

Ludacris had a good set and was well received.