On Friday, Hurricane Productions (HP) presented the legendary Ms. Lauryn Hill as the headliner at the Homecoming concert on the university green.
As soon as it became known that this year’s Homecoming act was going to be Ms. Hill, many students asked “why?” or “who is she?” and Ms. Hill’s concert had plenty of mixed reviews.
Don’t get us wrong, Ms. Hill is a remarkable musician. From the Fugees to her Grammy award-winning solo album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” Ms. Hill was a 90s legend.
However, for a college-aged audience in the 21st century, Ms. Hill was not the best choice for our Homecoming act. Why not choose a performer that is highly acclaimed among our age group? For example, last year the University of Central Florida brought Asher Roth and T-Pain for their Homecoming, and last month it brought LMFAO, Ludacris and Corey Smith.
This past summer Ms. Hill ended the U.S. Rock the Bells Tour in D.C. by making her fans wait for three hours until she hit the stage. According to The Washington Post, she was delayed because she was getting a manicure and pedicure. Why hire someone to perform who is known for showing up late to her own concert for ridiculous reasons?
In addition to the low anticipation for her performance at UM, Ms. Hill’s late arrival made students even more dissatisfied with the concert. It took an hour and 15 minutes for Ms. Hill to finally perform after Donnis, the opening act.
Additionally, she was only allowed to perform for 50 minutes because of the Coral Gables noise ordinance that requires any outdoor acts to be quiet by midnight. In the short time she performed, Ms. Hill did not play the last three songs on the official copies of the show’s script: “Killing me Softly,” Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low” and the popular “Doo Wop (That Thing).” If she had arrived on time, she would have been able to perform these hit songs.
The main issue is that the type of people in charge of choosing the Homecoming act do not represent the majority of our school. In order to prevent an unsuccessful concert like this in the future, HP should allow more student input.
Homecoming is not only the tradition of welcoming back alumni of an institution, but it is a time to celebrate our school. Why not let the student body have a voice in deciding who comes to our campus for this special annual tradition?
Editorials represent the majority view of The Miami Hurricane editorial board.