Latest update February 14th, 2025 8:22 AM
Tshanna Cort is Junior Calypso Monarch again
By: Brushell Blackman
For the second consecutive year, 20-year-old Tshanna Cort has been crowned Junior Calypso Monarch.
Watched by a modest crowd, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Saturday night, Cort triumphed from a field of nine competitors with her song ‘Where the Innocence Gone’.
She was the penultimate performer of the night.
Dressed in full figured white dress, and exuding confidence, Cort was escorted to the stage by two little girls carrying lamps to go with the theme of her song. As she began to belt out her Burchmore Simon produced rendition, it was clear that she was the crowd’s favourite. Cort’s melodious and superiorly powerful voice was able to counteract the Sports Hall’s poor acoustics.
She had the audience engrossed throughout the five minute long presentation, as she dealt with topical issues affecting young people. Unlike some of the other contestants, Cort’s quality of singing did not waver at anytime during her performance. She held all her notes, some very long ones at times, and always had the involvement of the crowd. It wasn’t a surprise when she won handsomely; gaining 272 points, 27 points clear of second place winner Paul Clarke.
Tshanna Cort, 2017 Junior Calypso Monarch
Cort will now represent Guyana at the Caribbean Junior Calypso competition slated for Barbados in August. Additionally, she also earned an automatic spot in the senior calypso competition and a very tangible $350,000 cash prize.
Paul Clarke was the fifth performer and came second to Cort, earning 245 points. The Vreed-en-Hoop resident, who was entering the competition for the first time, literally had his game face on. As he made his way to the stage, which could have looked better with quality lighting, Clarke looked like a man on a mission. As he began to serenade the audience with his piece ‘The 2017 Budget’ the chuckles and sporadic loud outbursts of laughter from the crowd indicated that the subject matter resonated with them.
His song spoke about the many taxes that were introduced and the differing opinions society had about this. But at times, the lyrics of Clarke’s song were hardly audible, as the competition’s location and the issue with the sound affected his performance. Although his performance tapered off at the end, Clarke gave a very good account of himself.
He won a $200,000 prize for his second place and an additional $75,000 for Best New-comer this year.
In what was dubbed a very high quality competition by many onlookers, Ryan Jagnarine and Niomi Alsopp who tied for third place, added to the high standard of singing that exemplified the competition. Jagnarine dressed as a ‘Pope’ and escorted to the stage by two young ladies, dealt with an issue many Guyanese know all too well, and even before he started to sing the crowd was in an uproar. His song was titled ‘Simply the Best’ and poked fun at a man of the cloth who was embroiled in a sex scandal that he apparently taped involving some of his female ‘flock.’
Although, his voice was a bit weak at times and he went off key at some point during his presentation, the Annandale resident who is entering the competition for the third time redeemed himself admirably in the end.
Then there was Niomi Alsopp. Her rendition was called ‘Gun Crime’ and she dressed the part to go with the message. With her face partially obscured by the black balaclava she wore, Alsopp was not going to be outdone by the other performers. If there was any issue with Alsopp’s performance it was only that her voice needed a bit more work. However, her presentation was certainly the best of the night. As she sang denouncing gun crimes she was joined on stage by a group of males wearing balaclavas and brandishing toys guns, much to the amusement of the crowd. Alsopp and Jagnarine were each awarded $125,000.
Although she did not place, Jada Harry was a hit with the crowd with her song ‘Low Me Leh Mi Bubble’. As she gyrated from side to side on stage the crowd joined in to create a massive dancing exercise inside the Sports Hall.
The other competitors were Romichelle Brumel with ‘Respect Teachers’, Akeem Adams with ‘Piracy in the Music Industry’, Donwin Stewart ‘Delinquency’ and Jennile Cumberbatch, with ‘Come Together’.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Protest electoral tyranny
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- There comes a time in the life of a nation when silence is no longer an option, when the... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
