Veteran in the art of Chutney Soca and Chutney music Rikki Jai captured two crowns at the annual Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) finals held at Skinner Park in San Fernando on Saturday night.
Rikki Jai (Samraj Jaimungal) now has a record eight crowns in the 20-year history of the competition
Bringing his experience to the stage, he choose to collaborate with the youthful and talented Ravi B (Bissembhar), a one time Chutney Soca Monarch, in the two categories of this year’s competition — Chutney Soca and Traditional Chutney.
The duo will share winnings of $2 million for the CSM and $500,000 for the traditional Chutney Monarch crown.
“This competition has grown to be one of the biggest in Carnival and I wanted to give the people something new and fresh,” Rikki Jai said, adding he wanted to bring the surprise element to the stage while keeping up with the rules of the show.
He hailed the lyrical content of the songs.
“Both Ravi and I proved we can have real unity when it comes to the music. We were able to bring the fans together, and we were able to bring the real essence of Chutney Soca to the stage with no complaints of ‘bad lyrics’ this year.
On his win Ravi said, “For me the music is my prayer, it is my heart and soul. Joining with Rikki is a dream come through and a mission accomplished. With his experience and my youthful fire we were able to deliver top class entertainment for our fans,” Ravi told Newsday. He went on to say they were able to create history in competition by bringing their talent together.
After many months of planning, the two stars set about to work on delivering the best in traditional Chutney and Chutney Soca for the stage.
With the help of choreographer Michael Salikram, the two artistes were able to dazzle the huge audience.
Rikki Jai and Ravi B were dressed as traditional warrior princes as they fought a war for their king, in the Traditional Chutney round with the song, ‘Chale Awoh Rani’. They rescued a princess, ‘Radha’, and returned her safely to the king. The song described the love the king had for Radha and the reason why a man should fight for what he wants in life.
For their Chutney Soca song, ‘CSM 20’, the duo wore the costumes of comic book heroes Iron Man and Thor symbolising taking the music to a higher level. At the end of the performance Ravi B lifted off the ground using a hot-air tank that was strapped to his back.
Southex CEO George Singh, promoter of the competition, yesterday said the duo scored 78 percent and 74 percent respectively in the two categories.
“It was an overwhelming victory as the closest rival Rooplal Girdharie received 40.31 percent in the Traditional Chutney and the defending (CSM) champion KI Persad scored 47.83 percent to place second in this contest,” Singh said.
He noted this year’s finals attracted more than 20,000 people, the largest crowd ever in the competition’s history.
“It is clear that the stars of Traditional Chutney were responsible for the large turnout at the park,” Singh told Newsday, adding he plans to continue with this category in 2016. He hopes to offer a bigger prize for the Traditional Chutney winner.
Performing the song, ‘No Gyul Again’, the 2014 CSM monarch KI had to settle for second place with Nishard Mayroo placing third and calypsonian Crazy (Edwin Ayoung) capturing the fourth position.
Singing ‘Ah Chutney Mix’, Crazy proved he had what it takes to score on the Chutney stage, as he was the only mainstream soca star to place high in the competition.
Young and gifted singer Saleem Beharry rocked the crowd with his interpretation of ‘Next Man Wife’ to place fifth in CSM.
In the Traditional Chutney category, Rooplal G (Gidhariee) had the crowd in the palm of his hands when he sang ‘Laage Rey’. The diva of chutney music Drupatee Ramgoonai looked stunning in her garara (Indian fashion) as she sang ‘Dholakwa Rey’. She was the top performing female artiste, placing third ahead of Rasika Dindial who was fourth. Award winning artiste Rakesh Yankaran placed fifth in this category.
The charming Nisha Ramsook, a competitor in the traditional Chutney, won the Bmobile Emerging Star prize of $20,000.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her husband Dr Gregory Bissessar attended the show. The Prime Minister was given an award from Singh for her contribution through the introduction of the $2 million first prize, sponsored by the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism. Singh complimented Persad-Bissessar for being instrumental in the development of Indo-Caribbean culture.
Persad-Bissessar attempted to speak to the audience but was interrupted by a noisy crowd who was calling for the music. She then left the stage saying she will give way to the competition.
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