Top: Teddyson John, Ambi and Ricky T.

They say lightning never strikes the same place twice but that was not the case when an abrupt power outage left Ambi stranded on stage in the middle of his performance at the just concluded Groovy Finals. The event which was held at Pointe Seraphine was preceded by the King and Queen of the Bands.
The Groovy competition has been the victim of an embarrassing power outages stemming back to the 2011 Groovy finals which was also held at Pointe Seraphine where an outage forced the show to take a long break just a few minutes into the first performer’s delivery. You would recall at the 2012 Groovy preliminaries a similar incident occurred during, the second performer, Marianne’s song. What is interesting to note here is that this was also the second performance for the evening. Could this be a Pointe Seraphine curse?
With that being said, the show continued immediately after the problem was rectified with the only encore performance for the night by Ambrose “Ambi” Joseph with his song, “Roll.” The very understanding and supportive crowd got into the mix with their flags and rags waving from left to right. Ambi, from the Take Over Tent (TOT), who made his debut in 2010, was delivering what was arguably his best performance yet.
Before the Master of Ceremony, Scady could introduce the next performer; the crowd erupted with clatter upon observing Che Campeche’s Coax as he walked on the stage. Seated in what was portrayed as a courtroom and Scady as the Judge, Coax pleaded his case to divorce his wife, Qpid. The crowd absolutely enjoyed the humour which set the stage for another great performance by the NG Soca star. Perhaps, the only negative aspect of that performance was the occasional shouting instead of singing. But she was not alone for many other artistes fell in that category including Kakal and Toya.
While it is not known what may have triggered the shouting, some believe it had much to do with the extremely loud music overpowering the voice of the artistes. However, that did not seem to affect Kwency “Superman HD” Griffith who delivered quite the spectacular and creative performance. He was visibly perturbed however by a false start and problems with the sound. Griffith, whose body was sprayed in gold and wearing a white pants was able to deliver an international display of fireworks and flair which added even more fuel the already excited crowd’s outrageous behavior. There is no denying that if not for technical glitches Superman HD would have been a major contender for the crown.
Although it was a tight competition, many of the night’s performances had either lengthy presentations or very uneasy beginnings and Mongster’s “St Lucia We Love” was one of them. A very creative presentation paved the way for an excellent delivery of one of the most popular songs this season, however, either the band or the artiste could not choose the right tempo to keep within what is known as a groovy song—at least that was what a few of his supporters shared with the STAR after he ended his very dynamic and energetic performance. Some believed the song was being played too fast and may have very well contributed to the artiste’s loss but whatever were the judges’ reasons, Mongster failed to claim the groovy title. He says, despite his loss, he still thinks he has claimed what no other has yet to achieve this year and that, he says, is the heart of the people.
Notable performers of the night included Christopher Hunte as Shadok singing the popular ‘Teacher’ song. Shadok had the audience paying attention to skillful lyrics and laughing out loud at his presentation.
Not too long after the last performance, the results were in and for the second time after almost five years, St Lucia’s first ever groovy Soca Monarch, Teddyson John was hailed as the Groovy King for 2012. TJ, as he is sometimes called was dressed in a white coat and blue jeans with the bottom folded above his knee. Performing “Land of Wine,” TJ was probably one of t he only singers not heard shouting and struggling to perform his song.
Opening with a video displaying the rich beauty of St Lucia with its majestic Pitons, TJ performed this song expertly. At this stage, many artistes would have thought twice about adding a new verse to the song but John took the risk to add one verse which warranted an overwhelming positive response from the crowd indicating that his decision was not futile. During his performance John indicated that he was determined to win back his crown.
At the end of the show, a speechless Teddyson John attempted to explain what was going through his mind during his performance.
“The support from everybody and even the crowd just kept me going on stage. The dancers, the production and everyone were just there. At the end of the night, we came out and delivered,” said John who at this point was lost for words.
In second place was last year’s Groovy King, Ricky T with his song, Mosquito and third place, Ambi.
The action is set to continue over the weekend with the Power Soca Monarch on Saturday night and Calypso finals on Sunday.