Entertainment

Patrons choose their queen

By NAGRA PLUNKETT, Staff Reporter

Dancehall queen Shanique Taylor (2nd left) accepts her cash prize from Byron McIntyre, a branch manager with Red Label Wine. - contributed

western bureau

THE JUDGES' DECISION was not final in the case of the 2005 staging of Red Label International Dancehall Queen Competition at Pier One, Montego Bay on Saturday night.

A large number of the 6000 persons, predominantly residents of Montego Bay, revoked the judges' ruling and chose the girl they wanted to wear the crown of International Dancehall Queen.

The judges were overruled when emcee, Jackie Norman, began announcing the top five places at approximately 5 a.m. Some patrons got angry when the western city's finalist was given fourth place. Protests escalated from jeering to a short bottle-throwing stint as the patrons vented their dissatisfaction with the results.

Promoters quickly took control of the situation after pleading with the crowd. When asked if they wanted to hear the rest of the results, there was a resounding "No".

Then came the question, "Do you want to choose the winner from the top five girls?"

The response was a resounding "Yes".

So by crowd appeal, 19 year-old Shanique Taylor, a Montegonian, was unanimously chosen as Miss International Dancehall Queen 2005 and received the $150,000 prize money.

Except for the outburst at the earlier announcement, the event - which was in its ninth staging - was a major success as promoters pulled out all the stops to put on a high quality competition.

TAP (Theatrical Artistic Performers) opened the midnight start of the show with a dance number, after which the 30 contestants, clad in the colours of the Jamaican flag, took the stage and introduced themselves.

Then it was time for the girls who represented Jamaica, Japan, Canada as well as Trinidad and Tobago to dazzle the crowd with a 30-second dance routine to random selections by Pure Playazz Sound System.

The six-member panel of judges selected the top 15 until only five girls remained. Canadian Mona Onida, who was second in the 2004 competition, was a crowd favourite as she opted to show off the latest dance craze without the customary gyration, but she did not make the top five.

Miss Trinidad and Tobago grabbed a spot in the top five to join her Jamaican counterparts in the most intense round of the competition, as even more seductive and creative moves were unveiled to a series of hot dancehall songs.

A fashion show by Hardcopy Girls and the Showjam Model Agency was another feature of the event, which was chockfull of excitement. There were also light moments when one contestant's wig fell off during her stint to reveal another clump of false hair underneath. Emcee, Garfield 'Movie Star' Reid also added his usual humorous punches and there was a mad rush for complimentary adult toys that were given to patrons.

Big Head Productions, organisers of the International Dancehall Queen, also handed over $100,000 towards the AIDS Hospice in Montego Bay.