JINGLE ALL THE WAY

Got there around 7:10pm (wanted to avoid the rush). Surprise, surprise! There’s already a queue of about 100 persons. Don’t have to tell you about the pushing and shoving, and nothing is giving away especially since these tickets are G$1,000 each. Guess persons are just too eager to get the best seats of the auditorium.

The crowd decides to prod the opening by clapping; some around me are reiterating the fact that there is work tomorrow & hope this wouldn’t be a very late start. About the 4th round of applause the show begins. Unlike the semi-finals I attended at the Theatre Guild this is a tad late, if you consider about 10 mins Guyana Time late anyway.

The rendition of the National Anthem performed by the Cox Brothers (you may remember Quacy who made it to the semis) is a perfect start to the evening. The 4 brothers are patriotically dressed in red, green, yellow and white polo tees and black pants. Wonder if many persons appreciate their effort in portraying the colours of the National Flag?

Both hosts, Malcolm Ferreira & Simone were spectacularly dressed. Renee Winter’s performance of her original song falls short though. Sorry, but with the bunch of stars GT&T found this year, she wouldn’t have made the Finals.

The organisers are showing video clips as an intro to each contestant which is well received for the most part. Screams and applause can be heard for their favourite contestants but for poor little Ashley John contestant no. 1, she gets the lone boos echoing around the Cultural Center. I now have a newfound admiration for this teenager coming on stage after that. Respect due Missy! I give her points for her guts but her performance was mediocre, guess it was warranted providing her circumstances. After she was finished she was able to win a few fans and get a reasonable applause. She is commended by Judge Basdeo for, “turning this crowd around”. That she did.

Most of the interview for Contestant no. 2 Malika Boyd cannot be heard over the load roars of delight. She sang a popular song ‘Lost, Lonely & Helpless’ by our own Pamela Maynard had everyone singing along. Afterwards the place was ‘bare noise’; it took a while for Malcolm to chat with her. From the sounds judge Sean Bhola is right in saying, “You have Guyana backing you”.

Here comes the Classique Dance Company. The crowd seems very poised. But wait, here comes the whining. You know we Guyanese like a whining.

Contestant no. 3 Annece Hicks receives a loud applause during her interview. Unfortunately, when she started singing I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her. Yes she choked! Her performance was very lacking. Shame because she had such a good semi-final performance to keep her in the running. Now it seems that she’s running in the wrong direction. So tiny is she but the song choice was way too big for her. You get the Red card, maybe next year Annece.

Contestant no. 4 Renne Chester did a bit of acting with the help of 2 young women to ease us into his performance. Never heard this one though, “We don’t touch thrash, only thrash touch thrash”. Renee had his best performance of the competition tonight, especially after pulling that last note. Didn’t know he had that in him. Good going Renne!

Contestant no. 5 Ashford Ward gets an approval for his little dance & praises for his choice of song, the way he sang it and of course his very unique voice.

No. 6 Wow, Quacy Coates not singing a ‘jump up’ song! I feel that’s usually what he is most comfortable with; instead he went with a slow number. He’s ‘feeling himself’ in his grey suit, white hat, matching white shoes, white rimmed glasses and accessorised with a white flower. I’m sitting here thinking, “What will Quacy do for us tonight”, then he attempts to sit on the speakers onstage and almost slips. He got through nevertheless and when he was finished, kissed Simone and handed her his flower. Always something for us to remember, huh Quacy?!

No.7 Michael Thompson in his TV interview says, “I am my biggest competitor”. I like his style already. The crowd also loves him in his sleek suit & matching hat singing ‘The Girl Is Mine’. Then he gives a shout out to all the beautiful women & does a Michael Jackson twirl. Nice Michael, best performance tonight so far. Most of the auditorium is on their feet.

Contestant no. 8 Phoena Da Silva sings ‘Set My Heart at Ease’. Have her in a tie with Malika for Best Female Vocals for tonight. She did a wonderful job.

No. 9 Raoule Samuels comes out with, you guessed, a HAT. Did they make this a requirement? He gets points for clarity and he has such a good voice. Unfortunately, the crowd response did not mirror his performance.

The competition so far is so intense that I think it is really getting to the woman sitting next to me, she is absolutely delirious. She came to support Burnett (the guy from Berbice) yet all along she is screaming for Michael. She turned to me and the person sitting on her right to ask if Michael was the one from Berbice. Got “NO” but insisted that had to be him who sang the Peter Ram song at the semis. Okay you win lady! Anyway, when the real Berbician came onstage she lost it.

No. 10 Carlvin Burnett. Had major support, even some with placards. Goooooooo Carlvin! He had such stage presence, really entertained moon walking & all. Couldn’t take my eyes off of the stage. Guess they saved the best for last after all. Even the judge went googoo. Crowd keeps chanting Carlvin!Carlvin! Begging for more. From the response let’s say, ‘he tekin’ dis!’ Can the night get any better?

The 2nd half starts about 10:18. In walks Dave Martins with his guitar. I’m thinking, Okay, please don’t bore us, we’re having such a good night. But wait! I know this song. ‘Not a Blade of Grass’. Mr. Martins had me singing my throat out.

Now it’s the segment when the contestants are to sing their original song & Malcolm announces that the winner would not be named tonight, rather over the next week. That was definitely a stunner & disappointment for many. But I’m sure we don’t mind because they’ll be more to talk about at home, work, on the way to work, etc, etc, etc.

This can’t be happening; I’m running out of ink. Really?!

Ashley comes back out & sticks it to her haters with lyrics like, “I’m here to stay” and “When trouble surrounds me I won’t walk away”. Nice fit. Way to go Fojo(co-wrote the song).

The usual solid performances again from Malika and Michael while Annece still fails to find her way.

Ashford finally gets the chance to showcase that voice we so enjoy. This time though his words are unclear so we missed the entire meaning of the song. He seems to have had fun though.

Quacy aka Avalanche found his real fit. Points to him for having the crowd join in a shout, “When I say Cell, You Say Link”.
A pretty young miss sitting behind me asked to give a shout out to Avalanche’s neighbourhood, Beverley Close, So Big Up!

Here comes Charmaine Blackman. Some may say that she’s too annoying, maybe because she prefers to sing everybody else’s songs & she’s always THERE, everywhere you look. You just need to judge for yourself. Tonight though, she kept it short and did entertain. Guess it would have taken a lot to spoil tonight anyway.

Jory did what he does best, ENTERTAIN, “A De Real Thing”.

All in all, I think the 2nd half went quite the same as the 1st. The front runners are still the front runners, except for Phoena who seems to be in a big battle for the top 3.

It was a very entertaining night & I commend all involved in bringing this competition to the level it has reached today. Also, thanks GT&T for giving young people the opportunity to change their perspectives & paving the way for the next big talent out of the Caribbean.