Press Release: PanoGrama Entertainment May 31, 2022
When music hits, you feel no pain! This was the mood on Sunday night at the semifinals of PanoGrama 2022, as 20 pannists vied for one of the 10 spots up for grabs in this year’s finals. Each performer wooed the audience on YouTube with various renditions from different genres. Shaquille ‘Flogo’ Forbes finished the night in the top spot with Chick Corea’s Spain, followed by France’s Mathieu Borgne who delivered sweet music with Lord Kitchener’s Sour Apple. USA’s David Yundi completed the top 3 with his version of Feel the Love by Free Town Collective and DJ Private Ryan.
The event got underway promptly at 8:00pm with the official PanoGrama anthem. Host and founder of PanoGrama, Nevin Roach, then invited Councillor Tashia Burris, Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation at the Tobago House of Assembly to deliver opening remarks.
Burris officially endorsed PanoGrama and was excited to welcome the competition to Tobago for future editions. She also showed her support for the pannists when she urged the participants to “have a whole lot of fun” during the competition and reminded them that “with all of you displaying your talent for the region and the world to see, we can all only win.”
Hundreds of viewers tuned in and kept the online chat active. They entered the chat announcing their arrival with excitement, exclaiming “I reach, I reach!!!” and dropped several emojis to endorse their favourite performances, as they took in the musical journey. The selections ranged from Mariage d’Armour by Paul Senneville to Bob Marley’s Could You Be Loved.
Colourful attire and costumes were worn by each pannist and worked well in complementing each performance on the night. Stand out costumes from the night came from Simeon Superville (T&T) who dressed like Hulk, green face and muscles to boot, Gabriel Chartrand (Canada) who sported an interesting and creative horned-themed headpiece which complemented his performance and Deja Cain (T &T) who wore a shimmering pink dress during her performance which added personality and flair to her rendition.
The evening ended on a high as Marcus Prince (T&T) brought the curtains down with a relaxing rendition of Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling, after which Roach revealed the list of the top 10 pannists who would advance to the finals.
All finalists will compete for a grand prize of an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas courtesy the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture – Bahamas, a Perfect Steel tenor pan and case, $1,000 USD and a private session with a world-renowned steelpannist.
The results were as follows: The top 10 will progress to the finals, to be streamed on June 12, 2022
1. Shaquille Forbes (T&T) – 94 pts
2. Mathieu Borgne (France) – 93.7 pts
3. David Yundi (USA) – 87.7 pts
4. Aquila Pereira (T&T) – 86.7 pts
5. Hanif Goodridge (T&T) – 84.3 pts
6. Tevin Shockness (T&T) – 84.0 pts
7. Jaron Woodsley (T &T) – 83.0 pts
8. Emmanuel Joseph (T&T) – 82.3 pts
9. Alexander Evans (Belize) – 81.3 pts
10. Mikiel Smith (Grenada) – 81.0 pts
11. Marcus Prince (T&T) – 80.7 pts
12. Déja Cain (T&T) – 79.7 pts
13. Christopher Neale (T&T) – 79.0 pts
14. Gabriel Chartrand (Canada) – 78.7 pts
15. Jamel Cadette (T&T) – 78.0 pts
16. Simeon Superville (T&T) – 77.7 pts
16. Al Alexander (St. Lucia) – 77.7 pts
18. Olivier Wiren (France) –74.7 pts
19. Malik Smith (Antigua & Barbuda) – 73.3 pts
20. Maurisha Potter (Antigua & Barbuda) – 70.0 pts
