Linden teen cops ‘Guyana Star 2011’ title
BRANDON Harding, a 17-year-old Lindener, copped the title ‘Guyana Star 2011’ and walked away with a brand new ‘Toyota Ist’ and a one-year contract to support his music career, all compliments of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T). Announcement declaring the winner was made at the grand finale of the GT&T 2011 Jingle and Song Competition’s English segment, which was hosted at the National Cultural Centre from 20:00 hrs on Wednesday night.
Harding had encountered some challenges throughout the weeks of the rivalry, but when it mattered most, the teenager astonished the judges and the audience with his exuberant performance and outstanding voice.
He maintained his position throughout the show, making sure he did better every time he took to the stage.
Taking second place was the beautiful Poonam Singh, who has an amazing voice; while a spectacular Esther Osborne was third.
The night’s proceedings saw the final 11 contestants doing several different pieces in groups of three. First up was Ernesta Nelson, Esther Osborne and Onika Joseph doing the song ‘We Are Family’.
Next were Harding, Calais Peterkin and Nickesha Alexander doing a combination of ‘Celebration’.
Singh, Nia Allen and Janelle Pierre sang in a group, but also performed individually ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’; ‘Santa Baby’ and ‘Jingle Bell Rock’, introducing the Christmas atmosphere.
After their, performances, the top five singers were named as Osborne, Singh, Peterkin, Harding and Joseph, and each was given the opportunity to sing a song of their choice.
The first singer was Joseph, doing ‘Someone Like you’ by Adele ; then Osborne, with Beyonce’s ‘Halo’; Peterkin, with Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’; and Singh, with Celine Dion’s ‘I Am Alive’.
Finally, Harding sang several Christopher Martin songs, including ‘Don’t Let Me Cheat on My Girlfriend’, and one by popular reggae artiste Popcann.

PROLONGED CHEERS
Harding received prolonged cheers from the crowd before Trinidadian-based Chutney superstar ‘Ravi B’ made a guest appearance that brought the audience to their feet with loud cheers and applause as he offered a few of his hits.
Ravi and his group will be performing at the Albion Sports Complex in Berbice for the Bollywood segment of the competition, on January 6, 2012.
After the excitement, two of the top five contestants were eliminated, leaving Osborne, Singh and Harding to compete in the next round.
The finale saw performances from former contestants, who imitated the late pop singer Michael Jackson and Tina Turner, among other universally acclaimed singers.
Calvin Burnett, Malika Boyd, Tameka Marshall, and the stellar artiste Jory were amongst the Guyanese crowd who thrilled the gathering with their lively and entertaining offerings.
The night also featured the Classique Dance Troupe, whose rhythmic movements added to the Christmas ambience.
The curtains came down with the contestants who had lost in the earlier stages singing and dancing to ‘Let’s Get It Started’ in their own mix.
Charmaine Blackman, decked out in a silver pants suit, sent the crowd wild with cheers and laughter as she did some selections from Tina Turner albums.
All the eleven finalists were presented with BlackBerry mobile phones by GT&T.