Ryan Hoppie and Bibi Halima Khan are each $1 million richer and the proud owners of two new Toyota Raum cars after they emerged the winners of the GT&T Guyana Star Jingle and Song Competition English and Bollywood segments respectively.
Their names and those of the runners-up were announced yesterday—after months of vibrant competition—at a ceremony held at the GT&T BlackBerry Mobile Centre, Brickdam, Georgetown.
This year’s contest broke several records in the history of the competition. GT&T revealed yesterday that approximately 140,000 competitors from across the country auditioned for the competition. Following the final held on June 14, the company saw a record high influx of SMS text votes; an estimated 200,000 in the first week after the final was broadcast. GT&T Chief Financial Officer Justin Nedd estimated that to be about 1,300 votes an hour for the first week alone.
It was announced that the external auditors of the telecommunications giant calculated the countrywide SMS Text votes which reflected 40% and the judges tallies which accounted for the remaining 60% to accurately determine the placement of each contestant.
Before hostess Nuriyyih Gerrard announced the contestants’ placement in each segment, she remarked that talent and development are the nucleus of the competition and that throughout the months of the competition, the contestants had lived this year’s theme, ‘Live Your Music’.
For the Bollywood segment, Denishwar Bisessar placed 9th with Erick Sukrah, Yeataindra Singh and Harresh Singh coming in 8th, 7th and 6th respectively. They each received a $50,000 cheque and a BlackBerry Z10 phone.
Devchandra Ramrattan came in 5th and won $150,000; Bunty Singh 4th won $250,000; Reshma Persaud 3rd won $500,000 and Andy Rambarack second won $750,000. In addition, each of the runners-up also received a BlackBerry Z10.
Winner Bibi Halima Khan cried as her name was called and was soon embraced by her father and supporting fans.
In the English segment, Darren Benjamin placed last. Lemuel Chestor, 9th; Edward Perez, 8th; TShanna Cort, 7th and Lerone Souvenir, 6th place, and they each won a BlackBerry Z10 phone and $50,000.
Natasha Yhapp was 5th and won $150,000; Dorian Obermuller was 4th and won $250,000; Diana Chapman came in third and collected $500,000 and Michael Small was second and won $750,000. Yhapp, Obermuller, Chapman and Small also each won a BlackBerry Z10.
Winner Ryan Hoppie’s name was announced to huge applause.
Since its inauguration in 2005, the jingle competition has seen the birth of many Guyanese artistes, most notably Timeka Marshall. (Jairo Rodrigues)
