THE 40TH SEASON of the annual Richard Stoute Teen Talent contest is heating up and last Sunday’s prelim was nothing short of a Gold Cup race.
Held at the Divi Southwinds resort in St Lawrence, all the contestants were satisfactory, but there were a few who stood a couple of octaves above the rest, namely, Rashida Codrington, Kenya Joseph and Selwyn Sivers.
However, coming down the stretch it was Codrington who drew clear and opened an unattainable margin over her closest competitors.
Joseph was the first of the three to perform. Her song of choice was Idina Menzel’s Can’t Let Go, which went well, bar a few mistakes. Following her, Sivers broke up the monotony of the bevy of ballads on the night with an energetic performance of Richard Stoute’s spouge cover of the Ides Of March’s hit Vehicle. Then came Codrington’s turn to wow the packed room, and she did.
When she got on stage and rendered Aretha Franklin’s Natural Woman the majority of those present went wild. In her inimitable style, Codrington assumed command and upon completion of the first round was ahead of her nearest rival, Joseph, by some 18 points when she copped 336.
But if Codrington believed that her job was done and she had the competition in the bag, she was in for a rude awakening.
Seemingly aware of Codrington’s paltry gap, Joseph came out the gates with vengeance to close forcefully. Her handling of I Am Changing by Jennifer Holliday was astonishing; her vocal register and prowess, the key changes, as well as diction were deserving of applause. And her connection with the audience was also on point.
Neither chief judge Sheldon Hope nor governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Dr Delisle Worrell had to say a word, for the expressions on their faces spoke volumes. It was very clear that they were highly impressed.
Utilising that energy, Sivers tore the house down in the second half. A pupil of the Parkinson Memorial School, this young man was born for the stage. Sivers was a true showman as he performed Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud. But what helped him standout was the fact that the arrangements of this hit was covered with a fusion of reggae and spouge. Dressed to impress during this number, Sivers’ dance moves were engaging but even more, his vocals were the best they have ever been.
In spite of Sivers’ showmanship, like a true champion Codrington did not appear bothered. Rather she awakened when it was time for her second performance.
Her final song was George Gershwin’s ultimate jazz standard Summer Time, which is by no means an easy choice.
Great vocalists such as Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Abbie Mitchell, Nora Jones and Janis Joplin have done credible covers and even to attempt to sing it demonstrated the level of Codrington’s confidence.
And she nailed it.
There was something magical about what she did. One expected her to sound “okay” but when she started to belt out the notes, it was a masterful stroke. Her blend of control, passion, authenticity and power was undisputable. Her vocals were terrific, stage presence was remarkable and her performance was close to perfect. Deservingly so, Codrington earned a standing ovation and 694 points; Joseph 669 and Sivers, 569.
In the meantime, newcomer Weslon Samuels also had two solid performances singing Neil Diamond numbers, but the judges believed it would serve him well to appear in another preliminary. Other talented youngsters who competed were: Fazeena Bassalat, Britney Bynoe, Leonard Layne Mayers and Rhianna Peterkin. Over-21 contestant Richelle Johnson scored 503 points. (SDB Media)
