Guyanese secure spots in chutney competition final

– as 23 set to challenge GI Beharry for title

The performances by the four Guyanese artistes last week have secured them spots in the finals of the International Chutney Soca Monarch billed for February 13, 2021.

Vanita Willie, Vicadi Singh and Tony Cuttz performed at the Shakti Sting Studio for the semi-final but now with one performance closer to the title, the three artistes are expected to record their performances at the Mantra, Lamaha Street, Georgetown. On the other hand, Prince JP, another Guyanese, preformed in New York.
However, the semi-final round was described as one of the best in the history of the competition, and much of it had to do with the venue at SAPA, South Trinidad, and also, of course, the fact that the event was able to be prerecorded and packaged for television.
“With the cancellation of Carnival announced in August 2020, Southex grasped the opportunity to create something different for CSM, and I think we have been able to achieve that in many ways,” Director of CSM, George Singh noted.
The semi-final event featured performances from Canada, New York, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, with 36 artistes competing for a place in the Grand Final and for a chance to be crowned the new Chutney Soca Monarch for 2021.

A completely new and unique aspect of the competition was the inclusion of “live” comments from judges. In Trinidad, the competitors were supported by the back-up “live” band, Avatar headed by Kishore “Wizzy” Ramdath.
In New York, the back-up band was RML Band led by Rishi Lakhan. Guyana was supported by Shakti Strings led by Avinash Roopchand.
The pre-recorded events were packaged for TV and aired on CNC3, Sangeet 106.1 and on several social media outlets across the USA, Canada, Suriname and Guyana. As expected, thousands of chutney fans tuned into the semi-final.
“The artistes really giving their all with dancers and presentations that were befitting of a Grand Final. Producers were very happy as it showed the commitment of the players in the industry especially in these very trying times and with a raging pandemic that a show of this quality and stature could have been produced at the level that it was,” Singh added.

A “text to vote” component was reintroduced in 2021. This was done deliberately since the viewers would be all online. Meanwhile, 23 artistes will now join GI Beharry, the defending champion, to compete for the title of Chutney Soca Monarch 2021.
Those moving forward are Damian Sookram from New York, Prince JP, Vanita Willie, Vicadi Singh and Tony Cuttz from Guyana.
The Trinidad line-up comprises Jairam Dindial, Ricardo Melville, Prince Navin Prabhoo, Dubraj Persad, Derrick Seales, Rasika Dindial, Kenneth Supersad, Riz & Theatrics, Russel M, Shiva Lakhan, Cherish Ragonanan, Neeshad Sultan, Reshma Ramlal, Surendra Ramoutar, Veejai Ramkissoon, Saleem Beharry, Nisha Ramsook, and Adesh Samaroo.

None of the artistes from Canada made it into the final round of the competition.
With the Grand Finale set for Saturday, February 13, 2021, fans can expect a final with all the frills that they are accustomed to at the live events.
The Grand Finale will air via CNC3 and Sangeet 106.1 and will also be available via “Southex Events” on Youtube Live.