COMPANY representatives of ANSA McAL last Wednesday lauded this year’s Carib Soca Monarch competition as exceptional, as winners received their prize money in the boardroom of the Ansa McAl Headquarters at Beterverwagting, East Coast Demerara. Brands Coordinator at ANSA McAL, Nigel Worrel said that the Carib Soca Monarch 2012 competition, which came back after a year’s hiatus, was the best ever in terms of the flood of applicants, performers upping the ante, and crowd response.
At the ceremony, Carib Soca Monarch 2012, Jumo Primo, was awarded $1.5M. He will also collect the hundred-thousand-dollar Best Newcomer prize which was mistakenly awarded to the competition’s first runner-up, George Anthony Abrahms. Abrahms, who was not at the ceremony, will receive the $500-thousand first runner-up prize and a new Rising Star award of $50-thousand. Second runner-up, Adrian Dutchin, received a $250-thousand cash prize.
So what went on at the Carib Soca Monarch competition?  Accompanied by several back-up dancers, Primo delivered the exuberant, fun-filled performance that he is known for. Performing “One People, One Nation One Destiny”, the artiste, along with his dancers, got over his message of unity with the help of an excerpt of a speech made by late President L.F.S Burnham, while an image of the late president was projected onto a large screen. As his performance continued, Primo, who said he is the only African-Guyanese with all six races in him, performed dances from all the races, to the delight of revellers.
Making his way on stage under a shower of confetti, fireworks and hundreds of balloons, Dutchin, dressed in a military-inspired suit in the colours of the Golden Arrowhead, had the crowd’s approval. His colourful stage presentation featured energetic dancers in ethnic outfits, stilted men waving giant flags, and a special appearance from the Golden Jaguars football team, waving Guyanese flags.
The crowd loudly expressed their outrage when Abrahms’s microphone stopped working as he began his performance. The voice of the people was heard, and organisers gave the lad a new microphone and told him to take his performance from the top. The crowd was in love with this artiste, who had travelled all the way from Linden every day after school, still in uniform, to make rehearsals. With a nod to his Filipino heritage, Abrahms made his entrance to oriental music, attired in oriental costume from behind dancers dancing in exotic fashion behind a fabric screen. As “Wine Attack” progressed, he stripped down to a vest and shorts in the Carib Beer Corporate colours (Yellow and Blue).
Responding to queries from the media, Worrell said that the company will be having a texting aspect of the competition, but it wouldn’t decide the winner of the competition. He explained that someone could have a great song but have a bad night and not perform well.
He also noted that while stage presentation expenses are on the performer, everyone will be given an (undisclosed) performance fee.
The rules of the competition were as follows: composition must be original; composition must not be longer than five minutes; composition must not have been entered in any other song competition; tempo must be over 95 beats per minute; composition must not contain any scandalous, libelous, or lewd material.