By Michron Robinson
Just wow! With hardly standing room and the energy of soca music permeating the Combermere School Hall on Sunday night, all the artists of Baje to the World delivered phenomenally and surpassed expectations.
Chief Judge on the evening Senator John King reiterated that soca music has a future and is in safe hands as time and time again artists brought all the energy in what was an evening of very stiff competition.
Ending the night on a high were performers Cyndi Celeste, Shaquan Smith and Miracle who received the City of Bridgetown Co-operative Credit Union’s award prizes for their mesmerising performances.
Miracle shone in her own zone as she did a solid set of Patrice Roberts’ Old and Grey, also winning the Massy Stores Most Dynamic Performer prize. She received a standing ovation and whipped the crowd in a frenzy with her energy.
Shaquan Smith was awarded on the evening for a fine performance.
The newest judge on the panel, Nzingha Nyahathu, provided high commendation for Miracle. “Thank you Miracle! You have a fantastic presence on stage. You were extremely comfortable with your performance. You had great sound selection, you sound good and you look great,” she said to a smiling Miracle.
Miracle conquered with her rendition of Big Girl Now.
Smith, who performed Sometimes by Leadpipe featuring Jus Jay, was loved by the judges and the crowd too. He did an “awesome job” according to Judge Carla Springer-Hunte, but her comment was not in isolation. Chief Judge Senator John King said he also has great appeal. “You are exactly what soca music needs,” the Chief Judge noted.
Cyndi Celeste was awarded for spoken word excellence.
Celeste has been consistent since the start of the competition, even with judge Philip Forrester admitting that she won him over to loving the spoken word – a genre he never favoured.
Lui the Bajan won the Barbados Trust Fund Ltd Baje to the World Workshop Participant award. He presented well.
Spoken word artist Carmen called for a safe Crop Over this year, once again shedding light on the perennial issue of gun violence and the need for an incident-free season. The audience loved her original piece Lewee Have A Safe Crop Over. Her presence was appreciated by the judges too, especially Judge Philip, who complimented her smile. “I always loved your smile. It is so delicious. I have to say there are a number of ways I could have described your smile, but that’s my ingenious way of saying you have a beautiful smile,” he said to riotous laughter.
One thing that takes a performer far is their stage presence and appearance. Carmen is winning in that department and with strong elements of lyricism too.
Offering pure dynamism as well was the energetic Emari who did his version of Jack by The Mighty Gabby. Undoubtedly, he has a bright future ahead of him. He didn’t finish at the top but post competition, his performance had tongues wagging.
The Showman also brought the house down with his performance of Passion by Militant. He’s a real showman, no gimmicks, straight performance genius. The judges agreed he has great commercial value but what’s also outstanding about him and his voice is that he performed all genres effortlessly.
