-judges shatter dreams of a few hopefuls
FIFTEEN contestants took to the stage at the National Cultural Centre on Monday night, each vying for a spot in the upcoming finals of GT&T’s Jingle and Song Competition. They all wanted to live their dreams and aspirations; but when the judges were finished with a few, dreams were shattered and the pain, embarrassment and agony was evident on their faces.
One has to agree that the telecommunication giant has pulled out all the stop signs this year to promote one of the best jingle and song competitions ever to be hosted here.
On Monday night the fifteen semi-finalists took to the stage and one has to agree that the judges indeed had the time of their lives to decide who would be the lucky ten going forward to the finals.
After a fairly good performance by members of the Dance Fanatics Group, it was time to welcome the judges. Gordon Moseley was his normal self, dressed appropriately to suit the occasion, and Sean Bhola was just modest and elegant when he appeared on stage. Joel Ghansham sent the audience into wild, hysterical screams when he appeared. Clad in a very feminine body hugging red top, this judge completed his outfit with skin tight leather pants, silver shawl and matching accessories. Much to the delight of the audience, he sashayed, pivoted and did a little body shaking that drove them wild. The screams were thunderous when Charmain Blackman came out. This time she was dressed like an Egyptian goddess, with a headwear from the ancient pharaoh days. One has to admit she worked that outfit excellently.
The first contestant, Onika Joseph, gave a blow away performance, bringing molten fervour to her selection, ‘Fire Works’. This time she upped her game and brought a performance to the stage that was truly touching. Well, this school teacher could not be stopped, and ended her act with somersaulting, splits and a few aerobics tricks that worked in her favour. The judges were pleased although there were a few minor hiccups in her presentation.
Police Officer, Wynette Moses, certainly did not savour the moment, since she was just not confident as she presented, ‘A moment like this’. Yes her voice was all husky, and so very seductive, but she certainly missed a few beats and went off key in some parts of the song. Guess the entire Guyana Police Force will certainly have to throw in those votes to keep her in the competition.
Diana Chapman continued to reign supreme. This pregnant mother delivered some shocking dance moves and splendidly belted out, Riannah’s ‘We found love’. She was sensual, she was sexy, and brought erotic allure to the stage as she flirted, caressed and teased her male backup dancers. She was truly entertaining and yes, indeed, she is a tough act to follow.
Calais Peterkin failed to deliver again and just bled her voice out as she attempted the provocative song, ‘Bleeding in Love’. Yes, she was stunning in that scorching red evening gown, but she avoided all the high notes and pitches, and that did not go well with the judges.
My goodness!!! Kevon Lorrimer yet again came on that stage and delivered one of the worst performances ever. Yes, he has such a sweet voice, but his performance was literally dead. Well, he kept begging for a woman to come on stage, and eventually an elderly woman heard his pleas. That still did not work. It was obvious that he was just frozen. Boy, pray that all of Linden top up their phones and vote, or leave the competition all together.
Poor Nia Allen did not strike gold as always, and was in for some very harsh comments from the judges. Her presentation was good as she performed ‘We belong together’, and I know she tried her best on those notes. Charmaine said she ‘had no mood’ and a few other not so nice comments. But come on judges, what mood do you expect a ten year old to bring to the platter? She is still a child…. What are you expecting from her? To get all sexy and sensual on stage? The poor child is far away from even feeling such emotions, so how can she portray them. But yes, someone should tell her, it was way past her bed time. This is a competition for grownups. However, to the entire negative comments little Nia responded, “If I get knocked out of this competition, I know this is not the end of the world”. Brave girl, you have a far way to go….
Ernesta Nelson was indeed sexy and certainly sported the ‘Riannah Look’; however her performance was somewhat cold, and she did not entirely do justice to the piece, ‘Take a bow’. This Buxton girl however has great vocals, and amazing range.
Amanda Peters totally shocked the National Cultural Centre as she performed, ‘Big Girls don’t cry’. She was appealing and her choreography was just sizzling. This girl unleashed a vocal inferno and had patrons on the edge of their seats. She entertained and left murmurs of approval all around when she left the stage with good comments from the judges.
Only God knows what went wrong with the beautiful and talented Poonam Singh. This lone competitor of Indian descent shocked many when she broke down the barriers and comfortably performed just about any song that was given to her. Sadly this time, it was not her night at all… She just fought and struggled throughout her performance of Riannah’s ‘Rude Boy’. She was clearly having difficulties in bringing to the stage the ghetto, raunchy, and suggestively sexy dance moves associated with the song. Added to that, she was having breathing problems and forgot a part of the song also. She almost collided with herself as she attempted a few otherwise normal notes, and shockingly, in frustration, left the stage almost in tears. Wrong move girl… You were one of the favorite in the competition.
Well, maybe after much persuasion backstage she returned to perform again, and the presentation was no different. She tried to put a little glitz and glamour at the end, but the damage was already done.
The excitement continued, and next up was Esther Osbourne, and indeed she was a bad girl as she unleashed her selection, ‘Played it to the Bad’. This girl was on fire, playing havoc with the senses as she teased, wooed and thrilled her audience with vocal magic that raised the hair on the skin. She was powerful, dynamic, daring, versatile and yet so entertaining. Certainly she brought a refreshing breath of air to the competition. She was a vocal volcano erupting inside the National Cultural Centre.
The people’s choice Brandon Harding was deemed the winner by the judges, and indeed he presented a show to rave about. What was electrifying is that he started off quite simple, then halted, assessed his audience and smartly mixed, daring, with flirtatious, topped with a dash of innocence. This he served up with a raunchy attitude, mixed with raw, unbridled masculine charm and it worked. He took the NCC to peaks of excitement and received thunderous applause and a standing ovation for his performance. This time around he served up a walloping chunk of feverish gyrations, and tearing off his shirt, flung it into the screaming audience. He was dubbed a true professional by the judges. He performed, Akon’s ‘Nobody wanna see us together’.
Things simmered a bit after, and Iodele Gilbert gave a fair representation when she performed, ‘No One’ and what she couldn’t bring to the forum vocally, she served up with thunderous legs exposed by a daring slit on her elegant evening gown. She for sure hit a few rocky patches, but held her own and finished the song satisfactorily.
Nickesha Alexander was born to sing, and she gave Lady Gaga quite a competition when she exploded with ‘Born this Way’. She was phenomenal, sweet and girlish, and yet transforming into an erotic diva on stage. My goodness, the makeup was superb, and the
costume was quite nice. However, what ultimately thrilled the audience was the Broadway treat she brought with her as she exploded on stage with her dancers, led by Destra. Their theatrical performance surely made names like Classique, Dance Fanatics and Crystallite fade into the background. She was very enticing to watch and brought her performance to a nice, clean, sizzling finish.
Poor Jennelle Peirere, the gods did not smile on her this time around, and she certainly did not do Riannah justice when she sang ‘Only girl in the world’. She just did not fit into the really sexy song and she fell down miserably in quite a few areas. She dropped the key of the song, and blamed it for her bad performance. But even so, she was still struggling with the lower key she had chosen.
Joylan Harry’s, was a totally miserable act and certainly was not beautiful as his song choice, ‘You’re so Beautiful’. He was clearly not into the song and was certainly having problems with the notes throughout his entire performance. He failed to connect with the audience and sensing their displeasure, he attempted to lure a lucky lady to the stage. This was embarrassing, since he pleaded all night and was staunchly ignored by the females. In the long run, he had no alternative than to present the surprisingly blue rose to Charmaine Blackman. He brought the curtain down on what was dubbed a night of riveting entertainment made possible by Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T).