Bermuda's reggae superstar will perform once again before the year is out with Grammy award winning reggae artist, Shaggy, at a special New Year's Eve party launching Harper Digital.

Collie Buddz is back and this time with an NYE event unlike any other, promising partygoers "an unrivaled entertainment line-up" at Par-La-Ville car park.

The Royal Gazette met with Collie at his home in Southampton along with brother, Matthew (Smokey) Harper, to talk about the event, his relationship with Shaggy and how his life has been a whirlwind for the past year.

Collie said he was taking a back seat on the planning side and just being an artist for this event. Smokey, of Harper Digital Entertainment, Andrew Holmes of 441 Productions Ltd. and Frederick Jellif and Suzanne Morley of Morley Productions Ltd. are planning the entire event complete with three bars, VIP cabanas, a food court, projection screens and more.

The event will feature Shaggy with the Big Yard Band featuring Rik Rok and Rayvon with Brian and Tony Gold. Homegrown will be backing Collie along with performances by Roache Killer, C'Daynger and sounds by Herbalist Supreme and Vybez Alliance.

Smokey explained the party is a launch for Harper Digital.

"People know we're around but we wanted to do something special, basically a launch pad for the company."

Collie explained he and Harper Digital have worked with Shaggy before and he uses his studio, Big Yard Studios in Long Island, New York to record whenever he's in the city.

"I was doing some recording at Sony's studio, but I really couldn't work there. My manager Dino knew Robert Livingston, Shaggy's manager and linked up with them. We searched the whole city for different studios but I liked the engineer, Sham, at Big Yard. It's the only place I work out of when I'm in New York."

Collie is featured on Shaggy's new album and Shaggy is on one of the 'Come Around' remixes. The brothers explained it's been a while since the Grammy-award winning artist has performed in or even visited Bermuda.

"He's been asking to come to Bermuda to party with us. He ain't been here in awhile. He performed in Bermuda way back before he was a huge success, before the Grammy awards", Smokey said.

Collie added they could have really had any artist come down for the show, but Shaggy appeals to a cross-section of Bermudians and expatriates, young and old. And because of that, there is no real target audience for the event.

This isn't the typical New Year's Eve party, Smokey said: "Basically, it's a party with some stage show acts. We have a lot of DJ's as well. We're putting on a top class event. People pay $100 to hear DJs (at other parties).

"We're giving you an action packed evening with constant entertainment. It's going to be exciting."

Tickets for the party are $125 each.

He added Shaggy's band has 15 members and his entourage really provides a full show.

Asked why people should come out and see him perform again, Collie said the show isn't just about him.

"People won't only see me, but we have Homegrown, the Harper Digital Family and it's also the launch of Herbalist Supreme. We are starting to build up the catalogue.

"And if people haven't seen Shaggy perform, they can come out for him."

He also said the multi-platinum selling artist is "really excited" about coming to Bermuda and mentioned he isn't an easy person to book for New Year's Eve.

Mr. Harper's debut album, Collie Buddz, has been steady on the reggae billboard charts since it was released July 3.

He arrived back on the Island two hours before this interview on Wednesday having performed in Guyana, Belize and Japan.

He has also performed in Aruba, Trinidad and Hawaii which he said was the top selling state in the US for his album.

Upcoming shows include Costa Rica, Turks and Caicos, Katar in Dubai, South Africa and Australia.

He said: "I've travelled the whole world. It's like a dream come true. I haven't had more than a week and a half off since we started. It's fun."

After he leaves the Island on Friday, Collie heads to New York for BET Sound Stage then shows in the Bahamas and Jamaica where he will be participating in a Marley salute.

Tickets for the soiree go on sale today at Istore, Goslings retail outlets, Music World and Audio Visual in Somerset.

There are only 2,000 tickets selling for $125 and it includes a welcome cocktail and a champagne toast at midnight.

To book a VIP cabana complete with a private bar, served canapés and cheese plates, two of the six are already booked, contact Andrew Holmes at aholmes[AT]goslings.com