Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
12 to vie for Carib Soca crown
Gyrations galore was the order of the night as contestant after contestant, presented
Lindener George Abrams doing his thing.
their Soca renditions at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground on Saturday as they sought to qualify for the final round of the Carib Soca Monarch Mash title later this month in Georgetown.
The event drew a sizable crowd despite light showers early in the evening.
And considering the $500 entrance fee, the appreciate crowd certainly got their money’s worth.
Commencing a little later than anticipated, the Heat Wave Band certainly put fans in the mood from the word go, with their up-tempo rhythms.
However, it wasn’t until about the third contestant that the atmosphere really heated up, and some in the audience sought to mirror the onstage gyrations.
Eighteen contestants participated at the event, but only thirteen will be going through to the finals.
Those who qualified are Compton Boyce, Roger Hassel, Randolph “Sweet” Kendingo, George Anthony Abrams, Johnathan “Lil Red” King, Ivelaw “Granny” Campbell, Adrian Dutchin, Jomo “Rubber Waist” Primo, Roger Hinds, Wilbur “Lil Man” Levans, Mellissa “Vanilla” Roberts, Beverley Smith, Roger Bowen, Young Bill Rogers and Dwaine Semple.
Those sent home were Attiola Peters, Dexter Lovell, Abigail James, Pierre DaSilva and Christine McCoy.
While most of the contestants proved themselves with the ability to really ‘work’ their songs, for a few it was just the gyrations.
Those with creditable overall performances were Mellissa “Vanilla” Roberts, with her “Rage”song; Wilbert “Lil man” Levans with his “Highly Flammable”; Ivelaw Campbell with “African Moods”; George Anthony Abrams with “Wine Attack”; King Sheppard with ‘Wuk up pon me”; Adrian Dutchin with “Proud to be Guyanese’ and Jomo Primo with “One People”.
A clear crowd favorite was George Anthony Abrams with “Wine Attack”. The patrons loved how he “attacked’ his song with a vengeance sending the crowd into frenzied applause. His back up dancers only added fuel to his fire and the home crowd clearly loved his performance, which was somewhat reminiscent of fellow Lindener Brandon Harding.
Other crowd favorites were Adrian Dutchin, Jomo Primo and King Sheppard.
However, there were some persons who felt that both Dutchin and Primo as veteran performers should have had better lyrical content.
King Sheppard could easily have walked away with the prize for most energized performance if there was one and two ardent fans hoisted him and carried him off as he exited the stage. Maybe they feared an imminent collapse after such a workout.
Wilbert Levans apparently gave his all in his rendition “Highly Flammable”, but certainly failed to ignite the crowd as expected. The luke warm response somehow seemed unfair after all this contestant put into his performance.
Vanilla’s electrifying performance of her song “Rage,” surprisingly, hardly swayed the audience, but their reaction could not dampen the spirits of this veteran performer.
Randolph “Sweet” Kendingo, considering his age, also gave an energized performance, giving credence to his song “Going till morning.”
The event, which was dubbed splendid by many, culminated shortly after 1am. (Enid Joaquin)
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