Culture Box
Reality television is not hugely popular here if it’s popular at all, but there is a sense that this is going to change with the kind of exciting, unscripted and unexpected stuff that is unfolding in the GT&T jingle competition this year.
The numbers were off the charts when company officials declared how many persons in the city alone flocked to Duke Lodge to give it a shot at the auditions, what they omitted to say was how many brave souls this city has.
Define humiliation. Stumbling face down during a track and field meet after slowing down to call the persons trailing behind, or daring to audition publicly for this year’s GT&T jingle competition when you are tone deaf or worse, show up without a song to sing.
The possibility of walking away with a car and some cash in this economic downturn was likely the driving force behind the hopefuls, even those who had troubling determining whether they were auditioning or just hanging out on the corner attempting something with a few friends.
But while there were those delightful moments when people chose to entertain through humiliating themselves, there were also awakening moments: where persons held their own and delivered strongly.
There were also those genuine moments when folks out there realised that their best was simply not good enough, at least not for the jingle stage and the tears flowed. It was a bit painful to watch as one young woman pleaded for a second chance and guess what; she was not bad at all.
The judges, all quite capable, steered the locally auditions without any controversy but there was one slight problem that kept recurring- if one judge disagreed, the panel was likely to disagree without any individual justification, which is sometimes needed in competitions such as these.
But GT&T is breaking new ground with these public auditions, opening up a different window into the ambitions of aspiring singers and those aspiring to do something else.
It is as if everybody has got a dream to sing and make it big. Perhaps American Idol has contributed somewhat to this phenomenon of people sitting around waiting for that opportune time when their voices can give them a shot at fame.
The concept is clearly ripped from that American Idol– that fabulously entertaining show which has not only reinforced that talent is often lying dormant somewhere out there, but that some people would do anything for a few minutes of fame.
There were a few who were outstanding and others, just simply memorable. The quality performances were few and far in between, but we saw them. There were Orlando Beckles, Faustina Wiggins and Timolyn Barclay who just blew the judges away.
Some persons like Wiggins were on their second auditions. Rene Chester was another, and the judges seemed eager to book him a place in the final, which is not reaching because he was in the finals last year.
But it is only fair that we mention a few of the memorable performances that could have easily been stand-up comedy. There was a girl who showed up to sing with a piece of paper in hand and kept glancing at it as she stood there and destroyed a classic number from singer, Monica.
There was guy who was rapping some song about food and love, and shouting out a crew from ‘Big Market’ saying, “pull up, pull up”. His song even included something about education. It was television worth watching.
But the best had to be the young woman who stood there with the microphone in hand and had no tune to sing. She hesitated for an unbearable period of time and then launched into a song about, “my boy, my boy”. She even threw in a bit about how the guy is like crazy glue.
And if that was not enough, she begged for a second chance after being rejected. She was without a doubt the bravest soul. (thescene@stabroeknews.com)
