| Mirror
Magazine |
||||
|
Abundance of
talent at Interact Grammy's
Running
a bit late, the show opened with the traditional lighting of the
oil lamp. This was followed by a cheerful welcome address by the
two project co-chairpersons who had led their team towards their
common objective of a successful show. An opening
Kandyan dance by the Bridgeteens came up next. They danced to a
popular Bathiya and Santhush hit and were a hit by the end of the
item. Onto the show!
The two comperes who referred to themselves as Mulder and Scully
from the popular TV series X-Files, made a lively team, introducing
each item with a few anecdotes and punch lines that were quite entertaining...
most of the time. The pre-judged
Instrumental Acoustic Categories winners, Radhik Wijesooriya, Viresh
Cooray, Thilina Perera and Ruwantha Gabriel, all Joes, played a
lovely mix of songs from the Eagles and Los Lobos before moving
on to famous Sinhala baila numbers like 'Denna, dena...". Radhik, Viresh
and Thilina went on to win their second title for the pre-judged
Instrumental Non-Acoustic Category. A truly talented threesome,
you could say. Especially the lead guitarist who at one point played
with the guitar strung behind his shoulders too. They moved between
pop and rock hits like Paint it Black, Sweet Child of Mine and Smooth
with the greatest of ease. The drum solo too was very impressive. First up was
the Solo Category with a well-deserved win to Surath Punchihewa,
past finalist of the Showboat Karaoke Championships. Known for his
perfect rendition of Bon Jovi hits, he managed to even put Bryan
Adams in the shade when he sang a breath-taking version of Adams'
hit Heaven. The audience was spellbound with his simple yet accomplished
delivery. Playing guitar, his only accompaniment, he was well acknowledged
with deafening applause from the audience. A promising future awaits
him, for sure. Shezan Zarook,
walked on stage accompanied by a huge cheer to perform his version
of the popular oldies hit Quondo, Quondo with a rhythmic sway and
good stage presence throughout. His choice of song was well suited
to his strong, clear voice. With If Tomorrow
Never Comes, Jehan Fernando did justice to Keating's work, singing
from the heart. He may have been a bit too harsh on some lines,
better sung soft and tender, but did well, nevertheless. Next up was
Muzlina Muzammil with her sweet rendition of How do I live without
you? It was a good effort, but she could have done with more variation
in her singing. The first guest
performance was by 17-year-old Rukshani Randeniya of SBC who delivered
Don't Speak and I Will Survive with a lot of style and character,
especially the latter number. The Rap Category
followed with three 'gangstas' from St. John's College who sang
an original Blind Faith with a lot of soul, building a good rapport
with the audience. Unfortunately, their words were not understood
most of the time, maybe due to the overly loud back-up track. Next up from
the 'ghetto' were the Peterites, dressed in the usual rap garb of
loose pants, bandannas and T-shirts. They did a medley of rap songs
ranging from Eminem to Dr. Dre. The last but
definitely not the least from this category were the boys from St.
Anthony's College, Kandy. The lead singer Sanka Gayawansha, rapped
to perfection the lyrics from Paper-Cut, a Lincoln Park hit. Clad
in red and black outfits they were oozing with confidence and rapped
their way to victory. Well done to Thamir Iftiquar, Free Philip
and Mohamed Omar too, for their excellent back-up singing. "We were
so happy and excited about our win. We couldn't believe it. We still
can't. It was like a dream come true because we were never recognised
in Kandy, and now we've won an island-wide competition. It was our
very first island-wide competition and we are thrilled!" said
an exuberant Sanka. Already adjudged
winner at the first leg of the semis, DJ Heshan Dabre entertained
the crowd, with a choice selection of pop hits, during the intermission. Choosing a
winner in the next category, Group Singing, may have been a tough
one given the close competition between St. Joseph's College, the
St. Benedict's College quartet, Chronic Decorum, a group of youngsters
from Gateway International and Methodist College. The Joe+Ben
combination of Arnold de Silva, Hashane Seneviratne, Shahane Perera
and Shalindra Perera with a unique version of Amazing Grace, displayed
a beautiful blend of harmonies, which may have been one of key factors
that went in their favour. It was a well-balanced joint effort,
with each of them doing their own bit to enhance the song. "We
never expected to win as we got the idea at the last minute. We
came up with this version and liked what it sounded like so we sang
it but, we really didn't expect to win. We wanted to move away from
the conventional version of Amazing Grace and I think we did o.k.,"
said Hashane modestly. The most positive
aspect of their singing however was that they were able to sustain
their harmonies and pitch through out the song, especially as it
was sung Acapella. They started slow and then jazzed it up as they
proceeded. Although it was a tough fight, victory was definitely
in the bag when the final notes of the song left the audience transfixed,
for a few seconds, before thunderous applause erupted. Chronic Decorum
was a unique combination of four guys and a girl on guitar, the
talented Nadia Issadeen who plays seven instruments. This group,
led by Surath again, showed lots of potential, though they fell
short in the harmony department. They had to be satisfied with being
second best. Shehan Nelson of Chronic Decorum said, "We would
have liked to win, but our main aim was to entertain and that's
what we did." "I was
very happy to win this competition and so was my family, for me.
I work hard at perfecting the songs I sing and often sing from the
heart, especially when the songs draw special meaning to my life.
As for Chronic Decorum, about 4-5 months back, a bunch of friends
and I, who had a common love for music, decided to set up a group
and perform. We hope to continue as a band for a long time to come,"
said Surath. Four guys from
Thurstan College with What I Want is What I Got, bagged third place
in the group category. They had nice individual voices but could
have paid more attention to their harmonies. Three young
girls from Asian International made a very confident apperance with
their version of The Rose. It was encouraging to see participants
so young taking part in concerts like this which should help boost
their self-esteem and confidence. A guest performance
by Ground Zero was entertaining, with a highlight being when talented
young cellist Asangi Wijesundera, from Visakha, joined them in a
unique rendition of a rock song. It progressed with perfect precision
and accurate timing. Moving on to
the final category, Dance,the winners were a group of six Bishopians,
Dayani Abeysekera, Tracy Jayasingha, Thaji Dias, Subha Wijesiriwardena,
Gayani Surendra and Ishika Perera who danced to the popular rock
song Funk Soul Brother. A lot of creativity and innovation had gone
into the choreography of their dance. They also synchronised very
well and seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. A well deserved
win. Hashitha Jayasuriya
(17), of British School, did a novel Kandyan dance dressed in all
the relevant finery. "I've danced with Chithrasena for the
past 10 years and thought it would be good if I could participate
in this competition. I just moved to British school from St. Peters
after my O/L's and joined the Interact Club there." With the
beat of two drums only, he managed to pull off quite a fine act
which earned him second place. The solo dance
act by a student of St. Paul's Milagiriya saw an agile imitation
of popular songstress Shakira to an English-Hindi hit single. Her
outfit too looked appropriate for the song she danced to. High Octane
was the final guest performance of the night, with a few rock songs
that may have been a tad too loud at times. St. Joseph's
College won best overall school performance as they won both acoustic
and non-acoustic instrumental categories and the group singing category. All in all,
a lovely, entertaining evening of youth talent at its best. A little
more attention to the timing would have enhanced the audience's
enjoyment. That apart, the Interact Clubs of both RC and SBC should
be given due credit for organising an event to give today's youth
the stepping stone they are in dire need of. Who knows,
perhaps some of these winners could be the next Wild Fire or Bathiya
and Santhush? Congratulations Interactors, for a job well done!
Talent Search 2002 was sponsored by the Academy of Business Studies and co-sponsored by the International College of Business Technology. The official food sponsor was Keells Foods while The Sunday Times was the media sponsor. Judges for
the finals Rap category; Dance Category; |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
