Jamaican dancehall singer Shenseea concluded her first-ever headlining North American tour with a show at the Fonda Theatre last week, and she sat down exclusively with KTLA to talk about her artistry, latest album and how she was surprised by Los Angeles in multiple ways.
The “Never Gets Late Here Tour,” which was in support of her second album of the same name, began Aug. 16 in Chicago and included stops in New York, Atlanta, Miami and Dallas before its final stop in L.A. on Sept. 3.
With music influenced by her home country’s signature dancehall style, Shenseea’s high-energy and emotional lyrical content is slightly different from her dancehall roots.
“[It’s all about] attitude, confidence and you have to throw in some women empowerment…it’s a must,” Shenseea told KTLA 5 Digital Producer Will Conybeare after her show last Tuesday.
On her most recent album, “Never Gets Late Here,” Shenseea wanted to bring a taste of Jamaica to her fans wherever she traveled, and she believes she accomplished that with aplomb.
“I really wanted to take it to a place where it ‘never gets late’ which is my home country,” she said. “The vibe and the aesthetic are like where I came from…sunset, dreamy, vibrant.”
“The music for me feels like timeless music…that’s what I wanted to aim for with the project,” she added. “My project, you can listen over and over again, and it never gets late.”
When it came to her North American tour as a whole, Shenseea was shocked – and incredibly grateful – at how it all went down, saying that she noticed her artistic improvement led to a stronger fan response.
“I was actually surprised…it was my first time doing hard ticket sales,” she said. “I must say, I have improved, and my audience has showed up and showed out…it’s something special to me to be able to bring out my core audience to enjoy themselves.”
Several things about Los Angeles surprised the dancehall superstar, including the quality of L.A.’s food and the representation in the crowd.
“I was surprised that you guys have really good food…it’s giving gourmet,” she said. “I was actually very surprised at the turnout [of the Belizean community] … I thought [the crowd] would mostly be Jamaicans and Guyanese.”
Regardless of who was in the crowd at the Fonda last Tuesday night, Shenseea said that each and every attendee came out and showed maximum support, another aspect of her L.A. show that caught her slightly off guard.
“In Atlanta and New York, it is expected…but the country is so big that [my support] out here is sparse,” she explained. “So, it really means a lot to me, and I hope we can do it bigger next time.”
Lastly, Shenseea had a message for Angelenos looking for new music, especially the ladies.
“If you want confidence, if you want to be a woman, be feminine, have feminine energy, be the Alpha female…all the good things about ladies, you should listen to Shenseea,” she said.