Daianna emerges overwhelming winner of Teen Talent Show

By Charmaine Walker

It was a unanimous decision by the seven judges that Daianna Price be crowned the 46th winner of the annual Richard Stoute Teen Talent Competition at the Barbados Museum on Sunday night.

Price emerged tops out of the ten finalists with a total of 1242 points, a clear 137 points ahead of the second-place finisher. Chief Judge Sheldon Hope declared Price the winner before a packed audience whose boisterous and deafening response indicated they totally agreed with the final decision.

Price was leading in the first half with her captivating and sensual rendition of ‘Love on the Brain’ made popular by Rihanna. She came out of her comfort zone with raunchy stage movements and her raspy voice thundered with authority as she belted out her winning song to the delight of the judges and patrons.  Similarly, Price’s song in the second half, Whitney Houston’s ‘Run To You’, was equally impactful. She sang with conviction and emotion and moved the audience. This victory was an obvious delight for Price as she jumped with joy at the announcement. This is Price’s final year in the 12-21 category of the show. She won $6 000, a trophy and a scholarship to the Barbados Community College.

The favourite of the season was 10-year-old Skyy Dowridge who placed second and received a trophy and $3,000. Skyy showed masterful voice control and had patrons on the edge of their seats as she displayed strong confidence with every note, doing justice to ‘Never Enough’  and ‘This Is My Life’. Dowridge has a lot more to give and will be one to watch in the future. She gained 1105 points.

 Third place went to Kymani Devonish who demonstrated excellent performing ability in his cover of Spouge number, ‘Vehicle’ by Richard Stoute. In this act, Devonish gave a nifty dance move nearing the end of the song. This caught the audience by surprise and was well received. Kymani’s first song was ‘People Talk’ by Itana. He was the most improved performer in this year’s Teen Talent. Devonish, who collected 1060 points, walked away with a prize of $2,500 and a trophy. He also took top prize in this year’s essay segment with ‘What Can Be Done To Curb Teenage Violence In Barbados’ where he gained $1,000 and a trophy.

Fourth place went to Shontae Alleyne-Clarke and fifth to Kereesa Clarke. Others in the finals were Tavon Boyce, Shaneka George, Joshua Osbourne, Weslon Samuels and Beyonce Clarke

According to Hope, the Richard Stoute Teen Talent culminated in “an engaging and nail-biting final.” He added this was due to dynamic performances by the contestants who were all in fine voice and maximized their points in the first half.

“The first half we were a little nervous that we were going to have a situation where we couldn’t see a clear winner, but I was very pleased with the standard of the performances, I was pleased with the way they handled themselves on stage with the band,” Hope said.

Even though they may be many ‘whys and hows’ in terms of the judges decision, Hope explained that in judging there are multiple categories and while many contestants can capture points for voice, they don’t maximize the creativity aspect of it. “They hear it’s a category, but I don’t think there is a strong enough understanding of what the category really means.” Diction and stage performance also contribute to the points up for grabs.

Hope said the presence of a live band and the crowd turnout reminded him of yesteryear at the George Street Auditorium. He is hoping to see it continue into the future. “I think we had a good season and I hope as we go forward we would see the type of crowds that we had in the past.”