Breakfast in Barbados 2009

Breakfast In Barbados Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry and Simple Plan Concert 2009

This was it; Radio at its best – the new wave of “Radio gets results…”

The stage was set for what was described as “the biggest night ever” in the history of CHUM FM, Harbour Lights and the island of Barbados.

Breakfast in Barbados 2009 Photos

It was the highlight of the CHUM FM sponsored Breakfast in Barbados, where lucky Canadian winners listen to Roger, Darren & Marilyn from their beach towels instead of being stuck in Canadian traffic. The culmination of this week was the highly anticipated concert featuring Simple Plan, Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson!

Simple Plan

At 7:50pm the air was ripe with anticipation and the crowd inside Harbour Lights and those who were not so fortunate on the outside were all waiting for something big to happen!

Chuck Comeau, drummer of Simple Plan, came on the stage to warm up and received some friendly banter from the crowd as they questioned him about his absence during the acoustic performance of the band earlier that morning!

Roger, Darren and Marilyn came on stage to give several “shout outs” to the CHUM FM winners from Canada and the various key people who made the event a reality. Then it was on with the show, as the other members of Simple Plan: Pierre Bouvier, David Desrosiers, Jeff Stinco and Sébastien Lefebvre, joined Comeau on stage.

You knew it was the beginning of a special night from the moment the two-time Juno Awards and platinum-recording artistes jumped on the stage, catapulting through the air while playing their guitars and rocking the drums.

The guys were jumping over the stage, talking and joking with the crowd, throwing guitar picks at their fans and embracing the crowds both on the inside and outside of the venue.

A strong crowd of those not lucky enough to get tickets for the show, had gathered on the beach outside of Harbour Lights to hear and at the very least, get a peek of the stage. They were not to be disappointed as Simple Plan intermittently gravitated towards their end and seemed to give them a uniquely distinctive performance.

The Simple Plan play list was a tight 50 minute set featuring the songs:
» Shut up
» Jump
» When I’m Gone
» Your Love is A Lie
» I Could Never Fall in Love With You (cover version)
» Live Your Life (a tribute to hometown Bajan girl Rihanna)
» I’d Do Anything
» Welcome to My Life
» No Love (they performed an acoustic version earlier live on air)
» Perfect

During their performance the band informed the crowd that they felt like they were on a working vacation by being in Barbados. They were charming with their anecdotes and won over the crowd by interchanging the lyrics from “I’d Do Anything for love” to “I’d Do Anything for Barbados”.

There was a lot of crowd interaction, and the band had everyone clapping and swaying their hands to most of their songs. The crowd was complimented for their singing by Bouvier who invited them to karaoke night at Oistins!

His relaxed demeanor enhanced the speculation that two of the band members owned property in Barbados, and his knowledge of local culture and slang confirmed him to be “almost Bajan”, much to the delight of the locals in the crowd.

With their final haunting song “Perfect”, the band encouraged the crowd to take out their cell phones, lights, dynamite and flame throwers and just unite under the stars. It was a perfect end to a perfect performance by a not so simple band!

Katy Perry

The stage was changed to prepare for the arrival of Katy Perry. There were two inflatable strawberries on the stage and then her three guitarists and a drummer, all dressed in classic white slacks, shirts and ties.

Katy jumps on the stage, hopping and screaming – wearing a cute vintage mini dress with a broad yellow belt and flat pumps. Rihanna was sighted standing just off stage with one of the best seats in the house to take in Katy’s performance.

Katy Perry’s repertoire that followed was simply amazing:
» Fingerprints
» Ur So Gay (dedicated to this one guy in her life, who she declared she “doesn’t miss anymore as of today”)
» Hot and Cold
» Thinking of You (she dedicated to all of her fans who bought the record, downloaded a single, went to a concert and just generally support her)
» Use Your Love (was dedicated to “all the hot mamas still living their dream”)
» Waking up in Vegas
» If You Can Afford Me
» I Kissed A Girl

Katy was very friendly with the audience and spoke of her experiences in Barbados so far, which included being taught by some Bajan boys how to dance in the club, and jumping in the pool or sprinting to the beach after a hard night of fun.

She bantered with the crowd outside of Harbour Lights and hoped that they were enjoying the show. She displayed concern for them being “behind a fence like monkeys” then joked with them that they were “only 16 years old” and that is why they were not allowed in! Her concern and interest drew appreciative screams from those persons who made the effort to be there – inside and out!

When singing “Hot and Cold” she stated that Barbados was definitely hot – and she asked everyone to hug each other, without regard for the perspiration flying around!

Before launching in to “Waking up in Vegas”, she compared Barbados to Las Vegas but stated that “what happens in Vegas you want to forget everything, until your friends show you the pictures, whereas in Barbados you want to remember everything”.

She also indulged in some “Bajan” dancing, where she got some of the women in the audience to show how Bajan women dance from where they were. She then decided to show what she had learned while in the clubs in Barbados and did a commendable job of the famous “Butterfly Dance”.

As her set came to an end there was a scream from the audience saying “Kiss Me Katy” and Katy indulged her by asking if she had any Cherry Chap Stick.

The young lady unfortunately did not have the appropriate brand so Katy then revealed her inflatable super-sized Cherry Chap Stick and placed it on the lips of some of the girls in the front row much to their delight!

She then broke into her popular “I Kissed a Girl”, and everyone liked it!

Katy Perry gave an engaging performance and was a delight on the stage – and yet when she finished, there was still more to come!

Kelly Clarkson

Roger, Darren and Marilyn were back on the stage to inform everyone that at midnight would be the start of Kelly Clarkson’s birthday so as soon as she came on the stage the audience greeted her by singing “Happy Birthday”.

Kelly then smiled and waved to the crowd before jumping straight into her set which followed like this:
» Walk Away
» Behind Those Hazel Eyes
» If I Can’t Have You
» Never Again
» Because of You
» Already Gone
» Breakaway
» I Do Not Hook Up
» Miss Independent
» Since You’ve Been Gone
» Help Me To Love Again

Kelly did a bit of dancing herself on the stage by doing a “white girl tootsie roll” to compete with Katy’s “butterfly dance”. The audience loved to see her having fun and clearly enjoying herself, not only on the stage but apparently also while exploring the island of Barbados.

She declared her love for the crowd and said their enthusiasm probably had to do with the drinks!

After Kelly sang Breakaway and was about to launch in to her next track – the band did a detour and started to play “Happy Birthday” for her, the crowd took the cue and joined in.

Kelly was distracted and did not notice her security then bringing a birthday cake on the stage for her! So when she turned around – SURPRISE! Now Kelly had Breakfast and a Birthday in Barbados!

After the euphoria settled, she then performed “I Do Not Hook Up”, which was written by Katy Perry for Kelly’s latest album “All I Ever Wanted”. The pressure was on as Katy watched the performance in the wings – which Kelly did justice to!

The lights went out and that was the end of the 24th Anniversary CHUM FM Breakfast in Barbados. The line-up for next year has to be amazing to top this – luckily it’s the Silver Anniversary so it is destined to be one for the stars.