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R&B singer  Sean Kingston coming to Witt

R&B singer Sean Kingston, whose "Beautiful Girls" was a big hit a couple of summers ago, will play Wittenberg University on Dec. 3.

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By Andrew McGinn, Staff Writer 4:27 PM Thursday, November 26, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — This is what you call coming full circle.

In 2002, Springfield hosted the source.

Now we get the sample.

But just imagine Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” without the bass line to Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me.”

Just imagine a contemporary R&B act actually playing the bass.

King came to town in ’02 — Kingston will play Wittenberg University’s HPER Center gym on Thursday, Dec. 3, in a show that’ll take two colleges (Witt and Clark State) to pull off.

Kingston, however, is still in his prime. (He was overseas and unavailable for an interview.)

The baby-faced Jamaican singer/rapper sampled King’s 1961 classic to create one of the biggest songs of the summer of 2007. (Ah, it already seems so long ago.)

The 19-year-old has been back to the Top 10 with “Take You There” and “Fire Burning.”

Neither sampled “Spanish Harlem.” (Sorry, a little Ben E. King humor there.)

Kingston, whose grandfather, Jack Ruby, produced some classic ’70s reggae for Burning Spear, clearly is a 21st century musical product.

His first album, the one with “Beautiful Girls” on it, has only gone gold — yet he’s sold more than 4.5 million ringtones.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0352 or amcginn@coxohio.com.

How to go

Who: Sean Kingston, with openers Florez

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3

Where: HPER Center, Wittenberg University

Tickets: $25 adults, $20 students; visit pac.clarkstate.edu or call (937) 328-3874.

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It's simple.

First you come out with a record that goes gold and has a #1 hit song, then two years later you release a second album that sells a puny 21,000 copies - with no hit single. You are washed up.

Let's remember that we're talking about a pop music here. In pop culture these artists come and go on a weekly basis. And he had a popular song 2 years ago!

As a pop artist, if you aren't making hit singles within a two year time span - you are washed up, simple as that.

witt alumnus
2:05 AM, 11/30/2009

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How could a 19 year old be washed up? Whoever is booking these people is getting artists that people have heard of and will go see. Also, whoever has that job is probably bringing in some money and probably got a raise for getting Sean Kingston.

hdf1984
10:21 PM, 11/27/2009

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More importantly, why?

Witt loves getting washed up artists. Vanilla Ice, Naughty by Nature, and now Kingston who had a hit single in 2007, for a summer?

Whoever books bands on campus needs to be fired from this job asap. Enough is enough.

Witt alumnus
2:42 PM, 11/27/2009

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Who?

Karpis
4:39 PM, 11/26/2009

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