Global - When music hits, you feel no pain! This was the mood on Sunday night at the semi-finals of PanoGrama 2022, as twenty panists vied for one of the ten 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 three with his version of “Feel the Love” by Free Town Collective and DJ Private Ryan.
The event got underway promptly at 8:00 p.m. on May 29 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 panists when she urged the participants to “have a whole lot of fun” during the competition and reminded them “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’Amour” by Paul Senneville to Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved.”
Gabriel Chartrand
Each panist wore colourful attire and costumes 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.
Deja Cain
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 Nevin Roach revealed the list of the top 10 panists who would advance to the finals.
Marcus Prince
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 steelpanist.
The performances of the ten finalists for PanoGrama 2022 will be screened via YouTube on June 12 from 8:00 p.m. AST (Atlantic Standard Time).
Results follow, with scores and placements.
PanoGrama 2022 Semi-finals RESULTS - Top 10
| Result/ Score |
Name | Country | Tune of Choice/ Performer |
| 1st – 94 pts |
Shaquille Forbes | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Spain (Chick Corea) |
| 2nd – 93.7 pts |
Mathieu Borgne | France | Sour Apple (Lord Kitchener) |
| 3rd – 87.7 pts |
David Yundi | USA | Feel the Love - (DJ Private Ryan & Freetown Collective) |
| 4th – 86.7 pts |
Aquila Pereira | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Vivir Mi Vida - (Marc Anthony) |
| 5th – 84.3 pts |
Hanif Goodridge | Trinidad/ Tobago |
This Masquerade (George Benson) |
| 6th – 84 pts |
Tevin Shockness | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Hear My Cry Oh Lord (Marvia Providence) |
| 7th – 83 pts |
Jaron Woodsley | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Just the Two of Us (Grover Washington, Jr.) |
| 8th – 82.3 pts |
Emmanuel Joseph | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Love & Affection (Pressure) |
| 9th – 81.3 pts |
Alexander Evans | Belize | Welcome to Belize (Leela Vernon) |
| 10th – 81 pts |
Mikiel Smith | Grenada | Pan by Storm (Designer) |
PanoGrama 2022 Semi-finals: Positions 11 - 20
| Position | Name | Country | Tune of Choice/ Performer |
| 11th – 80.7 pts |
Marcus Prince | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Can’t Stop the feeling! (Justin Timberlake) |
| 12th – 79.7 pts |
Deja Cain | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Mas Que Nada (Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66) |
| 13th – 79 pts |
Christopher Neale | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Pan Night and Day (Lord Kitchener) |
| 14th – 78.7 pts |
Gabriel Chartrand | Canada | Mariage d’Amour - (Paul de Senneville) |
|
15th – 78 pts |
Jamel Cadette | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Sir Duke (Stevie Wonder) |
|
16th – 77.7 pts |
Simeon Superville | Trinidad/ Tobago |
Hulk (Blaxx) |
| 16th – 77.7 pts |
Al Alexander | St. Lucia | Uptown Funk! (Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars) |
|
18th – 74.7 pts |
Olivier Wiren | France | Je me suis fait tout petit (Georges Brassens) |
|
19th – 73.3 pts |
Malik Smith | Antigua & Barbuda | Close to You (Maxi Priest) |
| 20th – 70 pts |
Maurisha Potter | Antigua/ Barbuda |
Could You Be Loved (Bob Marley and the Wailers) |
Press Release
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