Singh-ing praises: Toni-Ann and Popcaan ‘a beautiful example’, says Dahlia Harris
Published:Thursday | December 22, 2022 | 12:34 AMStephanie Lyew/Gleaner Writer
Jamaican actress and co-franchise holder of the Miss Jamaica World (MJW) beauty pageant, Dahlia Harris, is singing the praises of Toni-Ann Singh and Popcaan, following their debut performance at the recent Burna Boy concert.
Harris, who secured her space inside the media pit, appeared as though she was in a trance as she watched Singh command the attention of the audience and supported Popcaan.
“I’m just extremely proud of her,” said Harris, beaming from ear to ear. “We always knew Toni-Ann was a superior girl from the Miss World competition, and now that the crown is off her head, she gets an opportunity to explore this side of her and I can say I was so happy to be there to witness that.”
She shared that one of Singh’s outstanding and possibly best qualities is that she is a critical thinker, and Harris believes that with her venture into the music industry, she has crossed every ‘T’ and dotted every ‘I’.
“Let me tell you something about Toni-Ann; she thinks everything through before she does it and she does her research. She is not going to enter the music business without any idea what it is about and there’s nothing I can tell her that Popcaan can’t or won’t tell her, because he knows more than me, so that makes me comfortable. It’s just for her to understand that Jamaicans love her and will love her music which was evident from the crowd’s reaction inside the National Stadium,” Harris said.
The former Miss World title holder and the Unruly Boss performed their collaboration, Next To Me, during the Love, Damini album tour concert and when he returned on stage to perform the song, he and Burna Boy named after her, she stayed close by to offer moral support. Next To Me is trending in the top five on YouTube and has amassed over 4.5 million views since the visuals were released on November 30.
“I love the song, it’s very catchy, the lyrics are meaningful and clean. It is something you rock to and for Toni-Ann’s first effort, it’s a winner, [so] I expect to see so much more from and for her.”
Harris also hailed Popcaan as a great entertainer, and stated that he possessed admirable qualities, including that he was respectful to Singh. Speaking further about the friendship formed between the two public figures, the MJW executive asserted that, “he genuinely looks out for her and she looks out for him and they both want to see each other succeed and that’s a beautiful thing to see in Jamaica and a beautiful example to people”.
“Whatever people want to label it as, at the centre of it is respect; respect for each other, there’s real love for each other and what the love means I don’t know. We see the love he has for Miss Rhona (Popcaan’s mother) and the respect he showed for Beres [Hammond] on stage, at the core of Popcaan that’s who he is [so] I know she is in good hands. Overall it shows that, you can have your talent and me have my talent and if together we can succeed, then even better,” Harris continued.