Bones man is 2010 Soca Monarch!

From Kaieteurnews.com. Congrats.

While Shelly G’s no show to defend her title proved a disappointment to some, none can complain about the 2010 choice for Soca Monarch.
Before a celebratory crowd, Orlando ‘Bones man’ Johashen, 27, a Berbician of Tempe Village and a worker at the Guyana Forestry Commission, was adjudged the 2010 Soca Monarch.
The artiste who copped the crown from a lineup of nine contestants was true to his Guyanese roots and proudly sang with support from the crowd, “ I don’t care what nobody say Mashramani time is we own… see we jumping…”
From the time he began his performance to his conclusion, the crowd was on fire for him and he did not disappoint with lyrical delivery like that of Trinidad soca sensation Bunji Garlin.
The father of one was a burst of energy and hype, leaving the crowd shouting “Bones man…we want Bones man” long after he exited the stage.

One woman, who is an obvious soca crazy fan, was heard telling others “I’m disappointed that Shelly G did not show up but Bones Man deserved it.”
Appearing as the penultimate performer, the artiste who won the Best Newcomer Prize three years ago, offered a performance that included fireworks and the crowd was with him on Saturday night.
The crowd liked him and his energy was great.
Unique in his delivery, he wore a straw skirt instead of pants under a large white coat.
Amidst performing he shouted, “ya’ll want to see the real Bones man’. As the crowd shouted in the positive, he stripped himself of the coat and the crowd went into a frenzy declaring him the clear winner.
He used the X-factor dancers who added to his energy and they were supported off stage by several Mocha jumbies (stilts walkers).
Tomeka Thomas, the pregnant lady was first up singing about her balloon.
She appeared as a queen and her backup dancers were a bunch of fully pregnant (imitations) women, dressed in leotards prancing around the stage showcasing their balloons proudly.
It was her second shot at the crown and this year she was inspired by last year’s Trinidad Soca Monarch, Fay-Ann Lyons.
Though being eight months pregnant, she took some serious risks to prove that she was fit. However, it must have been an error on the part of the MC not to have announced that she once resided in the ‘Islands’ and this possibly worked against her as her accent was obviously not Guyanese.
But both her and her baby proved entertaining as she imitated her soca inspiration in attitude and singing.
The crowd was moved to laughter as she announced that comedian Chow Pow was her baby father.
The audience was unsure of how to react when she executed a split to conclude her presentation.
B52 the Fireman was up next with ‘We carrying on’ and his was a performance that featured fireworks flying and the flame-throwers on and off stage as well as on the stage’s roof.
He donned a white suit lined with trimmings of the flag and was backed by dancers dressed in red and yellow outfits.
Something about the microphone sound was not as clear and caused him to literally strain his vocals in delivery.
He, like at least three others, including the winner, included the predictable, ‘Somebody missing’ chant but the crowd did show him some love.
Lady B’ (Barbra) was introduced next, and she appeared wearing a Guyana flag mohawk.
Hers was a delivery that stated that she “Want a man who could lift me up.”
That song sounded very familiar. Her backups included dancers who were good but they needed better costumes.
Some dubbed her “a good filler” but were saying when she exited the stage that “she should go home now”.
‘Back wine time’ was probably the energy saver to the first half of the competitors, as Beverly Nedd, using dance fanatics for back up, delivered a scorching performance that proved that age ain’t anything but a number.
She sounded really nice and professionally so too while using the stage well.
The crowd certainly enjoyed her serving of ‘Back wine time’ that made many exclaimed that “granny could entertain and wine.”
That was the performance to beat in the first half of the show but it did earn her third place.
Guyana-born Jamaica-based artiste, Pierre Da Silva, was next up and he came with much energy for his ‘mad, mad, mad’ song.
With sponsorship from Bill Express, he and his dancers donned doctors’ jackets and were full of energy but he somehow did not connect with the audience as he could have.
It was obvious that the crowd couldn’t decide if they should support him or not as for the most part, his delivery was so full of words that it was hard to understand what he was singing but the musical accompaniment was high energy.
His locks were full of sparkles and he too delivered the overplayed ‘somebody missing’ chant which evoked the usual crowd response as he paraded all over the stage.
‘Material things’ done by Tele Cruz who resides in Trinidad was a fairly delivered groovy soca, with dancers who appeared on an ATV imitating lady Gaga.
But the song also bordered on dance hall.
Then a lady whom he described as European came and offered some supposed exotic dancing before he ordered her off the stage because she was offering things that he was not interested in, namely material things.
Then came his dispersal of money (Trinidadian Dollar Bills) into the crowd, followed by him relieving himself of his shirt to reveal a Guyana flag painted on his chest.
While some enjoyed his delivery, many did not find him impressive enough. However, he got the judges’ nod for the Best Newcomer Prize.
His performance included a local steel pan player being invited to the stage to play parts of his song before he got back into the singing groove.
Former reporter turn singer, Jackie Handover, was a great act that presented “Festival time” with a good voice, while some said they saw a whole lot of Charmaine Blackman in her delivery.
She wore a two piece red short pants suit.
While she was energetic, she failed when she tried to interact with the audience by stating that Trinidad has Crop Over and Barbados has Carnival.
With work, some believe that she will be a force to be reckoned with in future competitions.
Vanilla offered an electric performance which earned her second place that encouraged patrons to get ‘High’.
Her presentation included Mocha Jumbies and dancers as well as bodybuilders.
She was dressed in a red jacket and a gold short pants.
She was backed by dancers from the National Dance School, sporting colours of the flag.
Amidst her performance there were several explosions of confetti and fireworks and she tore off her jacket to reveal a body hugging black and gold bodysuit.
And the fireworks exploded even more as dancers dressed in carnival costumes arrived on forklifts.
And before long, she too was on a forklift with support from a gyrating bodybuilder.
Some were loud in praises saying, “big-up Bones Man, he work hard for it for real, now he just got to keep up the hype and energy that he got and big things could happen for he”.

No copyrights, no protection, no $$$!

Pearl Lewis also known as ‘Precious Pearl’ is fighting to win this year’s calypso crown but she is also fighting to boot a contestant out of this year’s Carib Soca Monarch competition on an accusation that the woman has stolen the words of a song she originally wrote.

Pearl Lewis

But while Precious Pearl is accusing Barbara Nedd known as ‘Lady Barbara’- a finalist in this year’s soca competition- of “criminally and maliciously” stealing her song, Lady Barbara says it is nothing of the sort as while her song titled “I Want a Man” has the same rhythm as a song she and Precious Pearl once collaborated on, the lyrics are not the same.

According to Pearl, she was “completely shocked” when she heard her song titled “24/7 Man” being sung by Barbara on 98.1 fm and she made a valiant attempt to stop her from performing the song at the competition’s semifinal in Linden last weekend.

The Scene contacted the organizers of the competition and they confirmed that a complaint was lodged by Pearl but pointed out that there is not much they can do as there is no intellectual property law in Guyana. Further, it was pointed out that Pearl has no way of proving that the song being sung by Barbara is hers.

“It would be unfair for us to push someone out of the competition based on the allegation of another,” one of the organizers told The Scene.

But Pearl is not letting up and she has labelled the alleged stealing of her song as “banditry” by Barbara with whom she had collaborated in 2005 for a song which saw her being the songwriter and Barbara the performer and which they entered into that year’s Road March Competition. The agreement, according to Pearl, was that should the song win, the prize money would have been divided equally, but the idea was later aborted after Barbara allegedly “started portraying some greedy and covetous traits” and operating as if the song belonged to her. She confirmed that Barbara had added the “small action piece for the road which was inadvertently left out” and which amounted to eight lines.

Barbara Nedd

It’s just the eight lines from the original song that are now part of the song being sung by Barbara who has since told The Scene that she would “feel small to use any words from Precious Pearl.” Barbara, a former police officer who has been singing for 26 years and has written all of her songs in the past, flat out denied the allegations by Pearl and is questioning the motive behind the accusation.

She recalled that Pearl who she met some years ago had said she wanted to become a singer “to add meaning to her life” and the song was originally a poem when Pearl first showed it to her.

“I am not going to tell you any lie they were good words and I just had to put a chorus to it,” she told The Scene. She said she paid for the song to be arranged and she recorded the song and they agreed to enter it into the Road March competition.

“Out of the blue one Sunday morning Miss Pearl Lewis called me and told me that we have to see a lawyer and sign a contract which would say that 60 per cent of any money made from the song will go to her and 40 per cent will go to me. I said ‘No way’ because it is my money use to record it, it is my voice and it when I have to perform is my energy,” the woman told The Scene.

She said it was at that point she decided to pull out and although many persons encouraged her to remain in the competition as it was a good song she wanted no further dealings with Pearl. She said Pearl did refund her a small percentage of the money she used to record the song and she accepted it on the urging of her then boss after Pearl had gone to his office “and behave bad”.

According to Barbara, the song she is singing now does not have any of Pearl’s words but it does have the eight lines she had added to the original song. She challenged Pearl to bring her original song to compare it with the one she is now singing.

And while Pearl is calling on the soca organizers to get rid of Barbara, the woman said she plans to continue on the competition and is looking towards winning the crown. She suggested that Pearl channel her energy towards winning her competition also instead of attempting to get her thrown out of soca competition.

“Why is this woman doing this to me, what have I done to her?” a bewildered sounding Barbara questioned.

From Stabroek News

Shelly is a no show!!

After this:

Reigning Carib Soca Monarch Shellon ‘Shelly-G’ Garraway is asking where is her competition for this year’s event since she believes that her tune this year “All That” really is all that and will see her holding on to the coveted title.

Last weekend at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Ground in Linden, nine contestants booked their tickets for the final which will be held on February 20 at the National Park.

Shelly-G was a no-show in Linden and though it was not mandatory for her to be there, it is customary that the champions would have a look at what they would be up against.

Prior to that, there was much speculation as regards the Soca Monarch’s participation this year but when The Scene caught up with Shelly-G her response was: “Well the last time I checked I was still in the competition, so yeah, I will be taking part”.

She added, “I haven’t really heard anyone yet who I think would give me a real challenge. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that they are not good or anything like that but I don’t think they will defeat me. But, I think Beverly has a good song. I think they say she scored the highest in Linden and then there are the usual people who are normally good.”

Asked if she thinks that her song for this year is better composed and better received publicly than her winning track last year, the mother of one noted, “Well honestly, it hasn’t really been playing as much as the other songs so I can’t say about that yet. But see, when I write a song, I always put a lot into it and I always say to myself that it has that winning tune. But we have a video out for the song now and I’m looking forward to this year’s competition.”

Comes this:

While Shelly G’s no show to defend her title proved a disappointment to some, none can complain about the 2010 choice for Soca Monarch.
Before a celebratory crowd, Orlando ‘Bones man’ Johashen, 27, a Berbician of Tempe Village and a worker at the Guyana Forestry Commission, was adjudged the 2010 Soca Monarch.
The artiste who copped the crown from a lineup of nine contestants was true to his Guyanese roots and proudly sang with support from the crowd, “ I don’t care what nobody say Mashramani time is we own… see we jumping…”
From the time he began his performance to his conclusion, the crowd was on fire for him and he did not disappoint with lyrical delivery like that of Trinidad soca sensation Bunji Garlin.
The father of one was a burst of energy and hype, leaving the crowd shouting “Bones man…we want Bones man” long after he exited the stage.

One woman, who is an obvious soca crazy fan, was heard telling others “I’m disappointed that Shelly G did not show up but Bones Man deserved it.”

This is shameful Shelly!! Shameful, where's Adrian when you need him?

2010 Soca Monarch

She was seven months pregnant. No less. But Antigua-based Guyanese, Tomeka Thomas did not let this hinder her stage performance as she set the Mackenzie Sports Club alight to secure her spot in the finals of the 2010 Soca Monarch competition in Linden on Saturday.

She moved and she grooved and gyrated and jumped. There were cries of anxiety because of her condition but nonetheless she turned out to be the night’s favourite sending the crowd wild with her piece titled ‘Balloon’. It was apparently a ladies night and judging from the crowd’s response, the second in line was mother of five, Beverly ‘Little B’ Williams whose piece, “Back Wine Time” was dubbed as the new name for ‘back ball’. While sporting costumes was not common among the contestants on Saturday night, Little B’s colourful halter top and tiny, black “popcorn pants” suited her performance eminently well.

Back wine - Beverly Williams demonstrating the title of her song

The pregnant Tomeka Thomas flouncing on stage

The night was highly favourable for most of the female performers but the crowd failed to find any flavour in reigning Road March queen Melissa ‘Vanilla’ Roberts. She was the last to take the stage and despite her dazzling, golden flouncy short skirt and matching bustier her ‘High’ failed to lift the crowd.

Not many of the male competitors hit it off with the crowd though Orlando ‘Bonesman’ Johashen had everyone on their feet when he took to the stage doing his piece ‘Is We Own’. The first competitor Atiola ‘Attie’ Peters performed ‘Leave me alone’ and the crowd left him alone. Patrons had high expectations of the lone Lindener, Jermaine “Cyclone” Bailey but despite his valiant effort to get the crowd moving with his song “Celebration time” almost everyone in the audience took their seats and were quiet as mice.

The semi-final of the competition was well attended by Lindeners and persons from across Guyana. Popular entertainers Jomo and Chow Pow amused the crowd with comedy and a Soca medley before the first contestant took to the stage.

The twelve who participated in the semi-finals were Barbara ‘Lady Barbara’ Nedd performing “I Want a man”; Jackie Hanover performing “Festival Time”; Simeon Sam performing “Love Over Hate”; Bailey performing “Celebration Time”; Thomas performing “Balloon”; Peters performing “Leave Me Alone”; Pierre Da Silva performing “Mad! Mad! Mad!”; Williams performing “Back Wine Time”; Roberts performing “High”; Wilbur ‘B52’ Levans performing “Carrying On”, Johashen performing “Is We Own” and Tiele “Tele Cruz” Thorne doing “Material Things”.

Only nine of the twelve competitors have made it to the finals and eliminated are Peters, Bailey and Sam. This years’ contest saw three overseas-based Guyanese performers: Peters, who resides in Barba-dos; Da Silva living in Jamaica; and Thorne based in Trinidad and Tobago.

Festival Time - Newcomer Jackie Hanover during her performance

Is We Own- Orlando Johashen doing his thing on Saturday night

Bringing the curtains down on the Saturday show which was dubbed by most as “a very good show” was Linden’s own, Malika Boyd –the winner of the GT&T’s 2009 jingle and song competition. After the show all twelve of the competitors along with Jomo and Chow Pow kept the party spirit alive at popular Linden night spot, the Library Club.

Chutney Monarch 2010: Fiona

Fiona Singh, who rose to fame as a member of the Sugar Cake Girls entertainment group, was adjudged Chutney Queen early yesterday morning despite strong competition from Mahendra Ramkellawan who delighted the crowd with an elaborate theatrical performance featuring men on stilts and a cantankerous granny as his mother-in-law.

The tantalising Fiona performs “Besab a Suriyabay” which won her the title of 2010 Chutney Queen.

Ramkellawan’s song about how his mother-in-law is always accusing of him about being a “Lah-ma-ta” (a physically handicapped person) was appreciated by the audience. He obviously thought he should have won, and so walked off the stage as soon as it was announced that he was in second place.

“Mahendra? Mahendra?” the MC called out, but he was long gone off the stage. The crowd nevertheless congratulated him.

It took a good few seconds before Fiona realised she had won the National Chutney Singing Competition, which featured a staggering 13 judges split up in three panels!

She soon overcame the shock of it all and belted out once more her winning song “Besab a Suriyabay.” Don’t try to understand what that means. It has no meaning at all. It was just something she came up with, much the same like Chris Garcia came with “Janay Burgay-Jaane” for the incredibly wicked “Chutney Bachanal.”

However, once the “Besab a Suriyabay” chorus line was gone, you realised Fiona’s song was about the need for an aggressive sexual partner – and it was put in equally aggressive language: “Ah want a Wukkah-man to wuk meh everyday.”

The song had a good melody to it, bordering on the sort of stuff Babla and Kanchan produced, but the raw raunchy lyrics might prevent the song from becoming popular.

Fiona added to her performance six male Afro-Guyanese dancers from the immensely popular X-Factor Dance Group. It was her way of being “different” and stepping away from the Indian girls with long hair and skirts.

The effort obviously paid off and Fiona walked away with the prize of $550,000.

Four-time monarch, Haresh Singh, failed to impress the judges, even though his song was refreshing and a departure from the popular Chutney theme. He won third place. His song “Din Ta Din” is a true story of how he was challenged by a Trinidadian into a competition.

Two contestants who sought to bring something different to the night were Karen Benneth and Suraj Narine.

Benneth was the only Afro-Guyanese performer in the competition and sought to rope in some Soca with her song “Chutney Soca Fever.” She delivered smoothly and her song was likeable, with a nice groovy, feel-good rhythm. However, the judges didn’t give her a place.

Suraj Narine’s song took on a Punjabi flavour with both rhythm and antics and the occasional “Bale Bale” but the judges also did not think he deserved a place in the finals.

Belly dancer Sandella Craig who delivered strong performances in the previous two competitions did not impress. Her song “My best friend’s wedding” was weak in content and the drama she sought to create on stage was somehow lost in the presentation.

Mahendra Ramkellan performs his song “Lah-ma-ta” which won him second place in the 2010 National Chutney Singing Competition.

Sandella’s story was about how she prepared to “shake it and show them all” at her best friend’s wedding only to find that the Dulaha (groom) is her sweetheart.

Bunty Singh, whose song dropped into the common “rum” theme won him the $100,000 prize as the most promising artiste.

Annandale market vendor, Beesham Jairam, who was last year named the Most Promising Artiste, failed to live up to the potential the judges saw in him last year.

From Mahaicony, his dream is of winning the calypso monarchy. However, Beesham’s performance of “Getaway thing” only provided laughter for the audience and nothing else.

The competition this year was a definite improvement over last year, though some pre-screening of the contestants could have kept some of them off the stage.

Owing to a string of poor attendances, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport which hosted the event as part of the country’s 40th Republic Anniversary celebrations, roped in Trinidad Rikki Jai to bring in the crowd.

In addition, King’s Duck Curry added flavour to the event. An estimated 1,000 persons waited to see Fiona take home the title.

Rikki Jai also served as one of the judges of the completion. He opened the show with the popular “Mor Tor” and then in the end belted out some of the more popular Chutney songs of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Ministry had also brought in Trinidad and Tobago music arranger Rishi Gayadeen, who has worked with the likes of Rikki Jai and Adesh Samaroo, to help the competitors.

Apart from the 15 Guyanese selected to take part, three overseas-based Guyanese also competed.

However, in the end, it was Fiona, a mother of two, who proved that she had what it takes to be Queen of Chutney.