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13 vying for Carib Soca Monarch Title

The 13 finalist for the Carib Soca Monarch competition are Shelly G, Passion, Roger B, Kemmy, Bones Man, Vanilla, Lil Red, Lady T, AJ, Avalanche, Ace and Mysterious. These 12 will compete against Jumo for the Crown.

Those who did not make the cut were Ahazula, Maxwell, G Money and Notoya London. Immediately after the announcement of the final 13, one of the contestants fainted in jubilation and had to be escorted off stage.

The 13 finalists will be competing for $1.5 million on Saturday next and the chance to win the coveted title of Carib Soca Monarch 2014.

The winner of the competition will represent Guyana at the International Soca Monarch in Trinidad and Tobago in 2015.

Meanwhile at the semifinals, 2009 Soca Queen Shellon “Shelly G” Garraway stormed into this year’s finals with an outstanding performance at the New Amsterdam Stelling Road Saturday night, leading 12 others into this year’s soca monarch billed for the National Park this weekend.

Outperforming most of her competitors with her raunchy lyrics, Garraway also added spice to her performance with her eye-catching outfit, which had many ogling.

Forced to recreate the party atmosphere after “G Money” poured cold water on it with his lacklustre performance, Garraway, who won the title back in 2009 with “Daggering”, stormed the stage to dish out her piece “Party Animal”.

She had the crowd in the palm of her hands as she delivered to perfection.  Her every move was well executed, but she might have spent a little over her allotted five minutes.
Meanwhile, Berbicians turned out in their numbers to witness an evening of intense rivalry among the contenders in the 10th Annual Carib Soca Monarch, as they battled to secure a place into the finals slated for next Saturday at the National Park tarmac.

As flashing multi-coloured lights beamed through the dark skies; music to its loudest; well decked women in the skimpiest outfits; artistes adding their final touches to their ensemble, the venue was all set for a fabulous evening. It was well known that one lesson was learnt and that was people in the ancient country come out late to party; thus, it would have severely thwarted a prompt start.

The proposed starting time was 21:00h but by 22:00h, the crowd started to build up and soon after the members of the Heat Waves Band, namely Jackie Hanover, Calvin Burnette and Mark Batson created a carnival like atmosphere as they dished out several genre of music, ranging from soca to dancehall and reggae.

After a spectacular 45-minute performance from the Heat Waves Band, the rain drops stated to trickle down, followed by heavy downpours, turning the atmosphere into a perfect night for a j’ouvert party for some. Others were seen scampering for cover wherever there was a shade, even if it meant under the stage.

Due to the heavy downpour, the band members were forced to disconnect their equipment and store them under tarpaulins on standby. This did not stop the deejays from heating things up with their excellent music selection.

The night’s proceeding was emceed by well known dancer Leslyn Lashley. First to take to the stage was Clifton “Passion” Adolphus, belting out “Cost Of Living”, which was a little off key, but did not stop the crowd from having a good time.

Another artiste Natoya London, appeared on stage and performed “Mass”, which from all indications did not impress the audience and the same thing could be said of the performance from Colbert “Magga Man” Dublin, who sang “Log On Pon a Bumpa”.
Jackie Hanover tantalising the audience during her performance

A hyped Roger “Roger B” Bowen performed “Love”, denouncing hate and crime, but with a touch of soca rhythm. He was followed by a stiff Kemmyanna “Kemmy” Garnette, who performed “Designated Winer” but did not do much justice to the song.

However, the next performer, Orlando “Bones Man” Johashen was full of energy and undoubtedly had the audience enjoying every bit of it.

Following suit was Berbician Melissa “Vanilla” Roberts, who dished out “Yada Yada”. The crowd was a bit jaded with her performance, but after a little prompting, they switched gear into gyrating mode.

Also creating some vibes was Jonathan “Lil Red” King with his tune “Who Are We?” which was seen as the best entry in the Carib Soca Monarch, but he did not perform to his fans expectations.

He was followed by Timeka “Lady T” Sinclair, who exploded with energy and charm as she captivated the attention of the audience with “Hit The Road”. Many believed that her presentation might have been the best for the evening.  Her fans turned up in their numbers and supported her to the fullest. Her performance undoubtedly gave her the edge over her competitors.

Abigail ‘AJ’ James and Ernesta Nelson also performed well with Ernesta getting the edge of James. They performed “What Can You Do With You Bumpa” and “Ridiculous Winning” respectively. As the competition winds down, National Communications Network’s (NCN) Quacy “Avalanche” Coates hit the stage with “Spartan”, which did not go down well with the audience due to the fact they could not have heard the words clearly.

Levar “Ahzula” Gittens was also not too impressive as he appeared on stage in dark shades and a bandana tied around his head as he performed “De Bouncing Stop”. At last year’s competition, he performed “Same Thing”, a version of Bunge Garlin’s “Ready For The Road”.

This year, with something saucier, Kwesi “Ace” Edmondson dished out “Still In The Game” and indeed from his performance, he has a right to say so. He was superb as he took to the stage as one of the favourites to win the competition.

The last two performances for the evening were from Compton “Mysterious” Boyce who did “Spin Them” and Ivelaw Maxwell who belted out “Iron Supplier”.