(Trinidad Newsday) One of Guyana’s top recording artistes, Terry Gajraj is one of 15 finalists competing for the prize of $2 million at the Chutney Soca Monarch competition this year. The show, which will be held this Saturday at Skinner Park, San Fernando, remains one of the top competitions among local and foreign artistes for Carnival each year.
This is Gajraj’s first attempt at this competition. The song that got him through the preliminary and semi-final rounds of competition was “Sumatie.” “I wrote this song just as a writer would do a Bollywood love song. I wanted to warm the hearts of women by professing my true love for the one girl named Sumatie,” Gajraj said. He added that in a world of so many false promises he wanted to remind women – and men – that true love does exists and it can really conquer all odds and last forever.
Gajraj thanked Ravi Bissembhar and the band Karma for providing music for the song and Big Rich for mastering it.
Talking about his experience on the semi-final stage at Rienzi Complex in Couva, Gajraj said he concentrated on putting a good show by looking good, reaching his audience and sounding good.
“This stage was different from all other stages that I have attempted in my singing career. But I realised the people were grooving and enjoying the melody of the song and I thought I did please them with my performance,” he said.
Talking about the finals he said he is excited about the big stage and he is preparing very hard to match up with the big name in chutney music in the world. He noted that the Chutney Soca Monarch has the great honour of taking his or her music to many countries that follow this type of music. “It takes months, even years touring everywhere to meet the fans and this is not only exciting but very rewarding,” he commented.
