By Tiffiny Rhodius
Music means the world to 20-year-old Calvin Burnett and by winning second place in the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition, he believes he has now boosted his standing from that of a small town singer to a Guyanese artist.
The New Amsterdam youngster has high hopes for his music career and plans to use the exposure and opportunities that will be provided to him as a consequence of his one-year contract with GT&T to explore his options and “see where it takes me.”
Calvin said that for as long as he can remember he has been singing. He comes from a family of musicians, he said, and “Take away music and you’ll take away a part of me that nothing else can fill. Music is the world to me.”
Speaking about his experiences in the recently completed GT&T competition, Calvin said that it was a great experience and he would never forget the togetherness, trips and lasting friendships that were created in the process.
Although he knew he could sing, Calvin said he was motivated to enter the competition by his brother Collis and sister Shunname: “They were the driving force behind me all the time.”
He recalled that on the day that the competition narrowed down to 25 he had an exam, and he was planning to miss the event. However, he said, his sister provided the money for him to make the trip to Georgetown and then back to Berbice so that he could write his exam. “She was the most instrumental in encouraging me in this competition,” he said.
Calvin told The Scene that during his time in the competition the support he received from his community motivated him to “keep trying and go out and give my best.” He also said that the constant practice and voice training he had to go through while in the competition helped to make his voice stronger and more mature. And as for the competition being a reality show, Calvin’s view was that, “It helped you to be at you peak all the time.”
Commenting on his original piece he explained that the song ‘I surrender’ was written by his aunt, Cherryln Chichester, and while it originally had a slow beat the tempo was upped to a reggae beat “to capture the audience and allow them to hear my voice.”
Calvin was thrilled to make it to the final three, however, at each elimination stage he was always weighing his chances as to whether he could make it. And having made it to the end he described the feeling of standing there with Malika and Michael as “electric.”
“At no point did I think I had it,” he said; the level of talent of the finalists meant that the decision could go anywhere. When he was announced as the second place winner Calvin expressed himself as “happy with my position; just being in the top three was a privilege.”
The singer is currently awaiting his results of his computer studies course at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute, and said that while he is still the same guy who is fun, smart, loves trying new things and making friends, the competition has now made him popular as well. People would see him on the road and walk up to him and hug him, which he told The Scene he enjoys.
Commenting on the first place winner Calvin said, “I think Malika’s talented and she deserved the position. She worked hard for it and won it fair and square.”
Calvin is hoping to take Guyana to “the place where the world can see Guyana has the talent.” He was full of encouragement for all those thinking of entering next year’s competition: “Anyone who wants to audition should definitely go. It’s a boost for you. You get lasting memories and you can take away a lot from the competition.”
