Singer Jose Chameleone has put an end to the fresh controversy surrounding his forthcoming concert whose date had clashed with that of Sheebah Karungi, by pushing his to a later date. This week, both artistes announced that they would hold their annual music concerts on November 30 causing a stir within the industry.
While ‘clashing concerts’ are not a new phenomenon especially in Uganda’s music industry, the latest between Chameleone and Sheebah who are not known to have animosity had left many speculating. As has been the case, some had perceived the move to be a battle of egos or better still for the two to prove who is stronger.
But Chameleone settled the ripples when he unprecedentedly announced that he had cancelled November 30 and will postpone his show.
“I have heard vibes relating to my concert and I want to clear the air,” Jose Chameleone interrupted his music performance on weekly comedy themed show, Comedy Store yesterday to tell his fans.
It wasn’t to tell them what he had in stock on November 30 but that he had given the day to the ‘Twesana’ songstress.
His show was slated to be held in the usual Lugogo Cricket Oval venue while on the other hand, Sheebah had opted for Kyadondo Rugby Grounds which is bigger than Hotel Africana where her maiden concert was held in 2016.
“Uganda has too many music fans, so let Sheebah share some of my friends and I will share some of hers on my day,” the self proclaimed ‘Heavy Weight’ went on to say.
He in fact mentioned that by scheduling his concert for November 30, he was “testing the waters”.
“When I said November 30, I was not testing waters with my two feet. You don’t test waters with two feet. You test with one. I was trying to check”.
This would only imply that the Leone Island boss found Sheebah to be deep waters and thus chose to play it safe.
Analysts will tell you that having a concert on the same night would be riskier for Chameleone than it would for Sheebah. Popular as his brand might be in Uganda, Chameleone wouldn’t guarantee pulling a larger crowd than Sheebah whose music has enjoyed wide airplay year on year for the last three or so years.
“So please, tell the Sheebaholics [Sheebah’s fans] tell the beautiful honey to enjoy 30th of November and I will do another day,” the ‘Champion’ hit maker said.
Whether Chameleone’s change of mind is a gesture of maturity and respect, or fear of risking his reputation, only he knows better. But this is the first time a musician of his stature has set clashing dates for their concert and later changed their mind.