Ten finalists named
THE Big Show calypso tent carried away the lion’s share of the spots for the Pic-O-De-Crop Finals, which this year will have ten finalists and no reserve.
The result of the keenly contested semi-final was announced around 1:30 am yesterday at the Kensington Oval as competitors vied for a brand new fully loaded Nissan X Trail. After announcing the results, emcee Carl “Alff” Padmore explained there was a tie in the judges’ tabulation, hence there will be ten finalists and no reserve in the finals, which will be held on August 5 at the same venue.
At the end of the night, the results in alphabetical order of the tent represented were: All Stars – Colin Spencer and Donella; The Big Show – AC, Crystal, Classic, Edwin, Iweb; Gladiators – Smokey Burke and House of Soca – Observer and Sir Ruel. They will face reigning Queen Aziza, who hails from the All Stars Tent.
The amphitheatre-style set up at the Kensington Oval on Friday night gave kaiso lovers a more intimate feel without the need for large screens to adequately see the performances.
However, whether it was the speaker system, microphones or the performers themselves, there were some issues with diction which made it difficult at times to decipher what was being sung by some performers on stage.
The recurring themes on the night were the state of affairs in the economy, namely taxes, politics and the societal ills. Some of the stand out performances that were well received by the audience included iWeb who, dressed in dreadlocks, unapologetically stated that he isn’t interested in rubbing shoulders, but greasing palms.
Amazing Dre, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase with a “Poor People Budget”, addressed the Parliament at the Oval and encouraged politicians to trade places with ordinary Barbadians, be it to catch the bus, or to use the QEH. There were no surprises with Classic’s performance of If Yuh Don’t Know, and Divorce, therefore it was also not surprising that he made it to the finals after he rocked the audience with his performance of the latter.
Observer was also well received with Patriot to the Cause and later returned with Socio Party. For many he was an automatic finalist before the competition started, based on the strength of his songs and his consistency. Edwin returned to the competition and went on bended knee in Beggar. The popular Tax-He, brought the crowd to their feet in support of the up-tempo song in the second half. Sir Ruel, no stranger to the stage, showed greater maturity as a performer as he tackled Not my Vote and Run Fuh Cover to the delight of the audience.
Jamal Slocombe delivered a spirited performance in the first half with Can’t Finish It, showing tremendous energy as he moved across the stage. He showed his trademark vocal range in Voice of the Voiceless, but failed to make the final cut.
Franswaa gave a strong performance in the first half with Master De Bait and encouraged Barbadians to be thankful for all that they have in spite of their challenges with Time to Give Thanks.
The female competitors stamped their authority on the competition, with baby of the pack A.C’s strong vocals reverberating through the Oval. Also commanding the audience’s attention was Sammy G, who shared the story of a sex worker and returned with Naked Departure. She was followed by consummate performer Donella with Virtual and Make a Change and Charisma whose confident performance of Women Moving and Miss Bimsha, which did not win the favour of the judges.
While the night of 36 performances was well produced, members of the audience also paid attention to the back up singers for De Big Show and House of Soca. Boasting seven semi-finalists each, this translated into 14 stage appearances and costume changes, which they somehow seamlessly executed even though they were at times back-to-back performances. (JH)