GT&T Jingle and Song Competition…The ‘sugar song’, Joel Ghansham and a 10-year-old handful

Oct 30, 2011 News

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By Leonard Gildarie

Well, it is here. I am not sure why I never took the opportunity to pay more attention to GT&T’s Cellink Jingle and Song Competition. But I am loving it!
Reality TV, as these types of shows are known, has been taking the world by storm. From the US to Britain to India, these hits have been rolling out and amassing fortunes for the makers.
It is a simple mixture…take a couple of ordinary folks and follow them around with a camera.
Hit shows like American Idol, X-Factor and the India’s Lil Champs have all developed a eager, die-hard following of millions around the world who every year look forward to another season.
Producers looking to garner even bigger paydays would hire celebrities to lend more credibility to the various ventures
Reality TV is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded.
For the past few years, Guyana’s own have been going to the corners of this land to find that one star…that ambassador…who would become one of the faces of the mobile company.
This year, GT&T managed to tweak the show to a whole new level. It is being aired on at least three TV channels during the week.
The first time I saw the show a few weeks back, it was laughter non-stop.
It was audition time…I can’t remember where it was.
It was a hopeful in his 50s. He looked serious. The song was what took the cake. It started out …‘She open she legs and show me de sugar”. Are you serious???
The bemused judges wanted to know how much sugar. Needless to say, after querying with straight faces how much sugar it was…quarter pound or four pound… the judges promptly booted him off.
But he was one of the memorable ones. I heard people wanting to even buy one of his albums.
Guyanese culture, no less.
The show has been divided into two segments…English and Indian…with contestants performing and being eliminated via mobile texts and judges’ decisions.
But it seems like the ladies may be edging the men out.
There was another man, in the audition stage, who sang in the English segment. I was not familiar with the tune but his slow ‘wining’ transfixed the judges and audience. It was hilarious.
But there were other highlights.
An apparent favourite in the English segment is a teenager from Canal # 1, West Bank Demerara.
Poonam Singh, 16, a UG student doing pre-law, somehow has managed to stand out so far. Her confidence shone through and she got the nod of the judges.
Then there was a little handful, 10-year-old Nia Allen. A St. Agnes Primary student, her poise and control had the judges and audience captivated. She reminded me of the spunky “Rudy” on the Cosby Show.
But one judge, Gordon Moseley, warned that it will get harder for the little talent as the competition progresses…it may even be way past her bedtime.
The show has featured a Hindu pandit and several singers in local bands, some of whom faltered as the pressure mounted.
During the Berbice auditions, there was one girl who stood out with her voice and she is visually impaired. She is still in the race.
There were other moments like one man on the Bollywood segment who hid his face with his cap and another whose voice was so soft that nobody could hear it, including the judges.
But while the characters were colourful, the judges were equals and probably in another league of their own.
Head and shoulders above the rest (in my opinion at least) with his fashionable clothes and accessories and comments, it was a revelation watching Joel Ghansham. There was the distinct impression at times that contestants were shying away and fearing his criticisms.
There is no doubt that his show business experience and popular talk shows have indirectly had some effect on the aspirants…It has seemingly elevated the competitions to another level.
He would start off… “I like your hair, but you should stick to hairdressing.” Tough as they come!
Then there is Charmaine Blackman, another judge whose presence in the music business, convinced GT&T that her presence as a judge was warranted.
Her fellow judge, newsman Gordon Moseley, pokes fun at her ‘wild’ hairdo which she wore during one of the tapings. He finds it hilarious.
Then there are chutney sensations Fiona Singh and Rajesh Dubraj whose local music presence necessitated their presence as judges.
My schoolmate Ajay Baksh, a public relations specialist, is also part of the judges’ panel.
What has really struck me about this particular season of the competition is the hype that has been building via the television, but moreso on the social website, Facebook.
GT&T has managed to build up an impressive number of visitors to its online pages and with its text voting on the mobile phones, the interest has grown.
With weeks left before the show concludes and two cars for the winners are handed over, the pressure is expected to mount more for the finalists. Several hundred applicants were attracted during the auditions.
The competition has not been without its unhappy booted contestants, some of whom vented their frustrations on Facebook and even dished out some old-fashioned cuss-down’s on the judges and GT&T.
Despite the sometimes technical issues with microphones, all in all as Guyanese would say, I like what I am seeing.

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