Beautiful Girls singer Sean Kingston back in Hong Kong with new attitude
Jamaican-American singer returns with a whole new perspective on life and music and is ready to regale Hong Kong fans this weekend
Promoting a profanity-free lyric ethic, as well as cross-blending his reggae and hip-hop roots with contemporary pop, Kingston’s melodic vocals were seen as a purer take on the grungy, explicit, urban music of the time.
“I was 17 when Beautiful Girls came out and I wanted to make sure I was setting a good example to other people my age, so I chose not to use profanity to express my thoughts,” says Kingston, who will be calling through Hong Kong for a private event at Play in Central on Saturday night.
Collaborations with music figures such as Jason Derulo and Wyclef Jean, and a budding friendship with Justin Bieber, marked him out as the next household name. But then he disappeared.
Kingston had suffered a horrific jet skiing accident while out on the waters of Miami Beach. He crash-landed into a bridge, causing injuries that TMZ said were near fatal. A torn aorta required open-heart surgery, and he was revived twice from the brink of death – an experience that resulted in a newfound appreciation for life’s unpredictability and his third album, Back 2 Life, in 2013.
“It made me appreciate every moment and live life to the fullest and I try to incorporate that feeling into my music,” says Kingston of the accident.
Having spent several years away from the music scene, Kingston’s newcomer appeal has been eclipsed by a constant stream of rising artists with the advent of YouTube stars and bedroom DJs. However, his current music marks something more – a maturation of style, harmony and influence that signifies a full life of tumult, of highs and lows.
