(Trinidad Express) A Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) finalist and former CSM queen is condemning this year’s results.
Ramrajie Prabhoo took to social media on Monday to express her dissatisfaction in a post, after placing second as the CSM Queen.
Katelin Sultan, who was only ten years old, beat Prabhoo for the title and came in fifth place overall in the competition.
Responding to Prabhoo’s comments, Kerryann Sultan, Katelin’s mother, told the Express yesterday that she understood that emotions run high for Chutney Soca Monarch as it is the biggest platform for Chutney artistes over the past three decades. However, she said, Katelin’s talent speaks for itself.
Prabhoo in a Facebook post stated, “The producers of CSM show no respect to female singer entertainers until he decides to crown a female child to humiliate adult female singer entertainers.”
“CSM is a Government-funded show, and the people who win must share the money they win,” she added.
Prabhoo claimed that, “CSM is on a downhill drive to destroy East Indian music, songs, and cultural heritage. Take a look at the presentation of the first-place winner and see if you are hearing a song. It’s all about who you negotiate with financially. The third place winner broke all the rules and was placed third.”
Prabhoo felt the competition was unfair and called on the Government to look into the matter.
Sultan’s mother, however, felt differently.
“If it was as bad as Ramrajie’s depiction, why are you participating?
“I have the utmost respect for Miss Prabhoo given her musical history and all her children growing up in the music industry just like my girls, and I was shocked that she expressed such disappointment towards Katelin,” Sultan said.
The mother added, “I believe you should understand how competitions work and not allow them to consume you regardless of the outcome. My daughter and I went into the competition not expecting anything.
“We entered this competition to make a positive change in this music industry and bring back clean songs for everyone to enjoy.”
Sultan said that despite her daughter being the youngest competitor at CSM this year, her daughter just did her best.
Sultan said her daughter was not favourably treated by CSM and won based on her talent and performance.
She said as a parent she had second thoughts, mainly about the criticism her daughter faced from the public, saying she is too young to be an artiste, but that is exactly what her song conveys: that she is ready for the stage.
Sultan said, “She is paying tribute to Kris Ramkellawan from Suriname, Davanand Gatoo from Trinidad, and Terry Gajraj from Guyana, who are all in full support of Katelin. She incorporated a line from their songs to show respect for these icons in chutney music.”
According to Sultan, while she understands that it is costly for all finalists to perform at that level, no one should be jealous of another.
She said Katelin has entered seven competitions this year, winning the titles in five, placing second in the other two, and winning the people’s choice award.
