Dennie Quill, Contributor

Music lover that I am, I could not pass up the opportunity to see the legendary Diana Ross live and in living colour on Jamaican soil. Yet, I thought long and hard about whether I should attend the 2008 Jazz and Blues concert. For one, Turnkey promotions were already in my black book because of the contempt with which they treated patrons at one of their earlier concerts on King's House grounds. Then again, I have seen so many disappointing performances by ageing stars who consistently failed to hit the high notes, and I wondered whether Ms Ross would be worth seeing.

But I grew up with Diana Ross and the Supremes and the wonderful sounds of Motown. Surely, this sleek, big-eyed, nasal-voice star from Detroit who had mesmerised adoring fans for nearly four decades could still thrill an audience. So, like many thousands, from grannies to teenagers, I went along to experience a musical treat starring Ms Ross. The stage was set for a night of sheer musical indulgence. I felt she was worth roughly one U.S. dollar for every minute of her performance. It was slightly more than that when one took into account her frequent wardrobe changes. What an incredible disappointment!

Distant performance

The fact that Ms Ross did not want her image projected on screen meant thousands of patrons could not see her. Many ask the question: why was she shying away from the cameras? Was it simply a matter of vanity? Ms Ross is 63, a senior citizen who has had five children. Everyone expects that she would have earned a few lines on her forehead and under her eyes. The bulges in her mid-section could easily be forgiven.

Ms Ross frustrated more fans than she pleased. Her performance was static, there was no interactivity and one could sense the disdain she felt for her audience. The long and sustained boos from the crowd were justified. Sadly, her children were on stage to witness this negative reaction of the crowd. Happily, it did not get physical, because then there could have been a stampede and hundreds would have been trampled because people were crammed everywhere on those grounds and there were no designated escape routes.

As people filed out of the venue early Sunday morning they were spewing bile. Many felt cheated. Others were questioning whether Ms Ross was actually singing. If, in fact, she was lip-synching, would that have been fraud? We know it is within the realm of possibilities for in a 2004 interview Ms Ross reportedly said: "When we (Supremes) first started in show business we did something called record hops and there was lip-synching then." She claims that now she sings with a live band.

Duped

People were as mad with the promoters as they were with Ms Ross. Walter Elmore of Turnkey Promotions is very good at courting the press when he is in pre-production mode. However, he has a way of remaining silent when he ought to be vocal. Surely, he owes an explanation to the fans. If Ms Ross made an eleventh-hour request not be projected on screen he should come out and let the public know that he was duped. A man with his savvy ought to know that Diana Ross can be a difficult person, so he should have ensured that their contract was airtight.

Regrettably, members of the press have not been asking Mr Elmore the tough questions. One so-called reporter was heard dismissing patrons' concerns with the flippant retort, "She is a diva, what do they expect?"

The Italian term 'diva' was used by Vincenzo Bellini in his 1831 opera, Norma, to describe an extraordinary woman who approaches her music and life with a burning passion. But after Saturday night the word 'diva' came to mean other things to many Jamaicans, like self-centred, vain, ill-mannered, temperamental, haughty and cold.

Ms Ross closed her act with the number I Will Survive, which was partially drowned out by the boos. But the ageing diva collected her cheque from Jamaica, and she moves on to Fort Lauderdale in March, and in May she is booked for concerts in Canada.