Crowd support for Brandon Harding, a finalist in the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition was overwhelming as he and ten other finalists sang with winning in mind at the National Cultural Centre on Wednesday evening last. Whether that will translate to votes being cast for him will be revealed in two weeks when the name of the winner will also be revealed.
It was obvious that Brandon had intoxicated most of the packed to capacity crowd at the NCC as it only took the announcement of his name to create a frenzy.
Singing Billy Ocean’s “Caribbean Queen”, the contestant was decked out in a full white suit and sported a wig which he later threw into the crowd. His melodious voice sweetly spread across the NCC and patrons who had not been without seats rose to their feet and moved to the beat. The Linden resident was offered a thunderous applause and can definitely be considered a crowd favourite.
The judges expressed their continuous astonishment, with Joel Ghansham indicating that the grand prize of one Toyota Ist to the winner of the English segment should be upgraded to a BMW just for Brandon.
Displaying his frivolous personality, Brandon requested to have his wig returned as he explained that it belonged to Charmaine Blackman, another judge in this year’s competition, who never fails to amuse the fans with her outrageous wardrobe choices.
The ladies of the evening did exceptionally well also, with 16-year-old Calais Peterkin and Poonam Singh both receiving tremendous feedback and standing ovations from the audience.
Calais, performing Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”, took full control of the stage with artistic yet simple dance moves that flowed with the lyrics of the song. She had two back-up dancers but they were hardly noticeable as hundreds of eyes were all focused on the young songstress who delivered her rendition perfectly.
Poonam appeared in a classy evening gown and delivered a mellow-toned Natalie Cole piece entitled, “Miss You Like Crazy”.
The judges noted that she was an amazing singer who continues to challenge herself. One judge, Gordon Moseley, said he was uncertain if he was witnessing a jingle competition or the Miss Universe Pageant as he referred to her dainty looks.
Making reference to the semifinal competition during which Singh walked off the stage while performing, the fourth judge Sean Bhola stated that her performance was a true bounce back.
Amanda Peters, who was the first participant to take to the stage, sang Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” and many thought this was a spectacular way to start the show. The young woman was told by Blackman that she had a great rock star look and was assured that she did a good job.
Another competitor who was loved by the majority of the audience was 10-year-old Nia Allen, who did a remarkable rendition of Tina Turner’s ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?”, asking the audience, and more specifically Gordon Moseley, “What’s age got to do with it?” Moseley had previously asked the youngster “if it wasn’t past her bedtime” and Nia graciously took the opportunity of the song choice to address this question. This received positive feedback from both the judges and the audience.
Heavily pregnant Diana Chapman also proved to be a crowd pleaser as she frolicked about the stage as she sang Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know?” Diana has been a balanced performer throughout the competition.
Meanwhile, Ernesta Nelson was a spectacular
but stable entertainer who did not seem to please the audience. Apart from her creative entrance of descending to the stage as the curtains drew apart, Ernesta
failed to intrigue the heavily crowded NCC.
Also contesting for the grand prize are Esther Osbourne, Nikeshia Alexander, Onika Joseph and Jenelle Pierre who returned after being chosen as a wild card. The songs performed by these competitors were “Time After Time”, “Let’s Wait A While”, ‘That’s What Love Is For” and “Listen To Your Heart” respectively. The judges offered no criticism to the 11 finalists but wished them all the best, both in the remainder of the competition, as well as in their careers.
It is now up to the fans to cast their votes and select who the next Song and Jingle competition winner will be. Results are expected to be released in 2 weeks.
