Nine finalists have been selected for the Mash Chutney Song Competition when the semi-final rounds of the competition were held on Friday night (February 7, 2020) at the Skeldon Community Centre, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Those selected are: Pooran Seeraj, Christopher Ramphal, Ravindra Singh, AW Lyrical, Tony Cuttz, Vanita Willie, Vicadi Singh, Young Bill Rodgers and Arjit Singh.
At the beginning of the night, 16 contestants took the stage looking to secure a spot in the finals, where $2.7 million will be up for grabs. The winner will take home $1.5 million.
The melody and originality of the music as well as pronunciation and articulation were some of key focuses of the judging panel.
The participants were not allowed to use songs that were performed by other chutney artistes in the past.
At the end of the night, the nine finalists were named including three females.
Vanita Willie’s song, ‘A Mother’s Love’ highlighted the importance of a mother.
Pooran Seeraj, who sang ‘Roti and Dhal’ talked about how enjoyable Indian dishes can be but eating too much, could leave you with a “big belly”.
Meanwhile, Christopher Ramphal sang ‘Sweet Bhaitak’. AW Lyrical had the crown going wild with his ‘Seven Curry’ piece.
Tony Cuttz’s ‘Neighbour Roti’ spoke of a neighgour, who is married but still has an affection for him.
Vicadi Singh sang ‘Mousie and she Tassa’ highlighting the sweet music of tassa drums.
In addition, Young Bill Rodgers performed a ‘Tribute to Chutney’ which has now become a Guyanese thing.
Local Arjit Singh’s ‘Sangeet Bhaaje’ highlighted the different cultures in Guyana.
The nine finalists will join defending Chutney Soca Monarch Stephen Ramphal for the finals to be held on February 22 in Linden.
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