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Luta in Chutney Soca Monarch Semi-finals
Robin Jagdip sings 'If ah Catch yuh Tonight'
TriniSoca.com Reporters
Event Date: January 13, 2007
Posted: January 16, 2007
The preliminaries of the 11th Annual Chutney Soca Monarch Competition took place on Saturday 13th January, 2007, at the Samar Entertainment Centre, Debe. Despite the inclement weather, fifty artistes braved not only the rain but the critical assessment of the judges and the audience that night. Each of the contestants vied for the coveted crown held by last year's winner, Rooplal Girdharrie and over $500,000 in cash prizes. T&TEC Gayatones provided the musical accompaniment for the contestants.
Although it seemed as though the crowd at the venue would be scanty, the place soon filled up with lovers of Chutney music.
Each artiste was allowed to sing two versus and a chorus which helped the competition to move along very quickly. Thus, all fifty contestants as well as the guest performers were able to appear on stage in a timely manner, much to the crowd's delight.
Many well known Calypsonians entered the competition such as Lynette 'Lady Gypsy' Steel, Arnold 'King Jordie' Jordan, Marva 'Marvellous Marva' Mc Kenzie and reigning Calypso Monarch, Morel 'Luta' Peters.
Some of the major players in the Chutney Soca industry who entered the competition were Adesh Samaroo, Neeshan 'Hitman' Prabhoo and five time Chutney Soca Champion, Samraj 'Rikki Jai' Jaimungal, who had been absent from the competition for three years.
The artistes who competed in the preliminary round of the Chutney Soca Monarch Competition are as follows:
Artiste / Song
Kamal Sookdeo / "Rum is a Killer"
Krishna Ramphal / "Hey Sundar Popo"
Pravin Persad / "Maharaja"
Trevor Gore / "Carapachima Jump"
Lynette 'Lady Gypsy' Steel / "Lal"
Phoolmattee Ramjattan / "Shadi Karoo"
Vinoo 'Stiffy' Harrilal / "Walay Your Waist"
Patrice Valentine / "Behind"
Nisha Sookdeo-Ramsuk / "Roast up the Corn"
Devanand Ganpat / "Hamay Dar Laagay"
Arnold 'King Jordie' Jordan / "Dance in Yuh Sari"
Marva 'Marvellous Marva' Mc Kenzie / "Gayaweyla"
Anil Suchit / "Gadaha"
Lynn Khan / "Chalo Nadiya"
Ravi Babooram / "Love You Till I Die"
Dubraj Persad / "Tum Meda Laga"
Rajkumar Harrilal / " Lakhan Carriah"
Shaffiroon Mohammed / ...
Davindra Ramdath / "Hamay Dar Laagay"
Michael 'Soca Elvis' Michael Salloum / "Chutney Wine"
Nizam Mohammed / "Pretty Larkie"
Vedesh Sookdeo / "Walay Yuh Waist"
Neeshan 'Hitman' Prabhoo / "Mohania"
Imtiaz Ali / "Frustration Breeds Crime"
Edward Ramdass / "Wiggle It"
Nigel Salickram / "Bala Man"
Rishi Sunil Nowbutt / "Dulhan"
Mc Donald Hercules / "Sing a Chutney For Me"
John 'D Sideways' Absalom / "Pysah Nahbah"
Moses Charles / "Bungay the Lawa"
Morel ' Luta' Peters / "Curry Duck"
Mohip Poonwassie / "Suno Gon"
Kenneth Supersad / "Chutney on the Rise"
Robin Jagdip / "If ah Catch yuh Tonight"
Ryan Peter Estrada / "Who is de Father?"
Lal Bharat / "Feel meh Heart"
Angela Ramoutar / "Bold Face Woman"
Tricia 'Sexy Tricia' Hamilton / Calalloo
Shaffiyat Boya Mohammed / "The Roller"
Ramdeen Falko Maharaj / "Shanti Bati"
Samraj 'Rikki Jai' Jaimungal / "Boleh Murugwah"
Arsha Kamachee / "Piyataryiaa Murtie"
Adesh Samaroo / "Rum Like Dat"
Anand Lawkaran / "Ten Little Indian Boys"
Shammi Gangaram / "De Mike Man"
Mario Jitman / "Lagoonaa"
Neeshad Sultan / "Julaway Julani"
Heeralal Rampartap / "Old by Face, Young by Waist"
Sarika Mahabir / "Ah Want to Party"
Clint Thomas / "Tassa Rama"
Other performances for that night included dances by the Durga Shakti Dance Group, the CLICO Shiv Shakti Dance Company and the Courts Nirvana Dancers and Tassa performances by the St. John's United Tassa Group and the Warrenville Senior Stars Tassa Group.
A common trend in preliminary and sometimes semi-final rounds of competitions are poor venue choice, poor visual effects and poor audio. The Samar Entertainment Centre in Debe might be the ideal venue for many events in terms of space but the covered galvanized area is certainly not a good choice for the Chutney Soca Monarch preliminaries or any show for that matter. These rounds of competitions should be treated as seriously as the finals and mediocrity should never be tolerated, especially when dealing with preserving aspects of our cultural history.
The artistes that made it to the semi-finals are as follows:
Rooplal Girdharrie
Heeralal Rampartap
Rikki Jai
Mc Donald Hercules
Morel 'Luta' Peters
Arnold Jordan
Lynette Steele
Ryan Peter Estrada
Angela Ramoutar
Edward Ramdass
Lynn Khan
Neeshad Sultan
Soca Elvis
Carlene Welles
Kenneth Supersad
Nigel Salickram
Vedesh Sookoo
Tricia Hamilton
Marva Mc Kenzie
Trevor Gore
Lal Bharat
Adesh Samaroo
Davindra Ramdath
Neeshan Prabhoo
Sarika Mahabir
Robin Jagdip
Asha Kamachee
Shaffiat Mohammed
Phoolmatee Ramjattan
Ramdeen Falko Marahaj
Mohip Poonwassie
Ravi Babooram
The semi-finals of the 2007 Chutney Soca Monarch would be held at Rienzi Complex, Couva on January 20, 2007 and the finals, on Saturday 3rd February, 2007 at Skinner's Park, San Fernando. Can Rooplal Girdharrie keep his crown or would he be dethroned? Only time would tell.
Chutney Soca Monarch Prelims in pictures:
www.trinisoca.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=49732
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