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Unforgettable ‘II’ Postponed until December 26, 2013

The Hits and Jams Entertainment Group regrets to inform the public that the ‘Unforgettable II’Concert which was slated for December 26 has been postponed until next year due to time constraints after headlining act, Chris Brown, withdrew his performance.

Plans for the concert, which was to be hosted at the Guyana National Stadium on Boxing Day, were pending after the R&B Superstar’s management team notified the promoters that Brown will no longer be performing in Guyana.

As a result, the HJ team was dashed into negotiations with other international acts since a substandard replacement was not wanted. However, due to inadequate time to lay out agreements and contracts, the body was forced to postpone the concert.
With a year to organize ‘Unforgettable II’, now slated for December 26, 2013, Hits and Jams promises its supporters to make the event a grand one.

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Conscious Minds November to Remember 2 – Night of Divas

Soca Queen Destra Garcia
Soca Queen Destra Garcia

Divas, both big and small (and fluffy and slim) congregated at the Guyana National Stadium for Conscious Minds’ “November to Remember 2 – Night of the Divas” concert last Saturday, November 17, 2012.

I understand that with November being the month to raise awareness for Domestic Violence, head of Conscious Minds thought it wise and timely to hold an event showcasing Caribbean Dancehall & Soca Divas. However, he neglected to include his own Guyanese divas but I guess we’ll discuss that later, first let me tell you about the show.
The show was hosted by Lisa Punch and Mondale Smith. Lisa, though not slated to perform opened up with a song (a song the DJ took forever to find) before she introduced the first act of the evening. Rags up! Flags up! If you’re not a soca loving diva then you would really find it hard to appreciate Destra Garcia’s music. Bringing the revelry and excitement of Carnival, Destra took us from hits to hits of her sweet sweet soca music. Many of the stiletto wearers decided to forego their ridiculous heels for flats to jump and frolic around to hits such as Max It Up, In D Air, Carnival, Jumpin’ and many more. She had patrons moving from one side of the stadium to the other. She even called a young lady from the crowd to represent for the Guyanese ladies. No one from the VIP opted to represent so a very willing young girl from General jumped the barricade to join Destra on stage. Her jumping did not go in vain because she surely didn’t disappoint.

Denise "Saucy" Belfon

In the middle of her performance Destra introduced on stage with her another one of Trinidad’s soca sensations, Denise ‘Saucy Wow’ Belfon. Saucy wasted no time in getting down to business and displaying her agility as she did the bicycle and many other gyrations. She even schooled the divas on what to do to their men when they got home, I hope many took notes. Saucy Wow’s energetic performance featured hits such as “Saucy Baby” and one of the best impersonations of Tina Turner’s song, “Private Dancer”. Destra got back on stage and the soca duo performed “Obsessive Winers” together before Destra finished off her performance and culminated the soca aspect of the show. Yes, I can tell you that many persons were dripping at the end of all that wining.

Tanya Stephens
Tanya Stephens

From Trinidad to Jamaica, from soca to dancehall, from the revelry of Carnival to stimulating social commentary, from the soca queen to the dancehall queen, from Destra to Tanya Stephens. The ladies (and surprisingly some men) all rushed to the front of the stage to get a little closer to Tanya. Women respect Tanya because they can relate to each and every one of her songs, some of the few she shared included “Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet”, “Tek Him Back”, “Boom Wuk”, “It’s a Pity”, “What a Day”, “Good Ride”, “These Streets” and many more. A for Amazing Tanya!

Spice

The show got a little hyper when dancehall diva Spice came on stage, the very vulgar Ms. Jim Screechie , who looked much better in her outfit last night then the clown suit she wore in August belted out the few tracks she has and then invited fluffy Pamputae on stage with her. Pamputae might be fluffy but she can move thus her recent single Slim vs. Fluffy which she sang with help from Spice and two girls, one fluffy and one slim from the crowd. The fluffy girl outdid the slim girl just like the song says. LOL. Pamputae ended her performance with her signature “Pat Yuh Pu$$y” and left Spice on stage who did an amazing but very raw rendition of the Power of Love.

Dancehall Queen Lady Saw
Dancehall Queen Lady Saw

The last diva to grace the stage was the Queen of Dancehall, the one, the only Lady Saw who got right down to business by taking off her heels and belting out hits such as “If Him Lef”, “Woman Mi Name”, “Sycamore Tree”, “Gal No Worry”, “Wife a Wife”, “Hardcore (It’s Raining)”, “It’s a Pity”, “Push

Over” and concluded with her very recent “Heels On”.
The show was an epic one I must say. Kudos to the Divas!
But I would have really liked to have at least two Guyanese divas on stage maybe Timeka Marshall & Jackie Hanover (sticking to the dancehall genre) and one last thing before I go, why was the show so scarcely attended?

Click to view album –> November to Remember 2 – Night of Divas

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Pulse Entertainment: Thriller Halloween Party

Out of a possible 10 points for conceptualizing, bringing to fruition and executing while sticking to a proper theme party with relevant décor Pulse entertainment would score 9 ½ for the masses supported Halloween ‘Thriller’ Party.

Saturday last the group managed to pack almost to capacity the Princess Poolside as the pirates of the world, mermaids, goons, goblins, sexy fairies, mummies, Princesses et al assembled in full costume for a magical night of make believe. So creative was the concept party that patrons such as Sexy vampires and werewolves abandoned their parties at other venues and showed up to enjoy the ‘pirate’ themed concept party. But this should not be a surprise as the group is noted for staging some of the most creative events in Guyana such as cooler fete, summer fete etc. Amongst those in attendance were local celebrities such as media operatives: Michael Younge who was a sexy blood thirsty vampire with pink make up while Mondale Smith was dressed as a pimp and designer Trevor Rose was a freaky pirate. The events coordinator was rock star pirate.
Thriller was born four years ago and has since grown into a tradition of Guyanese party goers, Halloween is a celebration derived centuries ago as a Celtic Festival also known as the day of the dead and beliefs that the soul of the deceased would be available and roaming, this festival was mostly celebrated in the north Americas. However apparently there was not too many who celebrated that concept.

 

Pulse entertainment has taken this dark festival and converted it into an annual event that everyone looks forward to, being able to dress in costumes of all characters, this year’s theme: Pirates was inspired by the movies Pirates of the Caribbean. Pulse Entertainment’s Chief Executive Mr. Robbie Singh clung to the concept months ago and called on Three (3) times Costume Designer of the year Mr. Trevor Rose to bring his vision to reality, they both wanted to make patrons feel like they were a part of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean so work commenced on Monday October 22, just five days before the event it would seem like a miracle was needed to pull off the construction of a sixty (60) plus feet Black Pearl Pirate ship and convert the princess poolside into a breathtaking masterpiece.

Pirate girls and Swappi

Pulse Entertainment opened the doors of princess poolside to patrons around 20:00hrs (8PM) as party lovers were amazed by the life sized props. Some even commented saying it was the most creative work ever done by an entertainment group leaving patrons spellbound.
Patrons was also treated to Mermaids swimming in the pools and painted characters from the movie created by Bravo arts, the venue was almost to capacity in less than two hours after the doors was opened as everyone danced to the music by Pulse Entertainment’s Dj Ryan Ramroop and Trinidad Dj Marcus Williams; not long after soca sensations Swappi and Shal Marshal of Trinidad graced the stage and sent the crowed poolside into a frenzy, it was indeed an experience that will have patrons talking for a long time.

Pulse entertainment would like to thank our Production team at Image Marketing: Gaitri Roopnaraine, Andrew Mendes and many other too numerous to name. Also without the support from our sponsors this event would not have been such a success so thanks to Banks DIH limited under the Banks Beer and XM Rum Brands and GT&T Blackberry Service, Gizmos and Gadgets, Glamour Designer Brands, Purple Dash Boutique, Computer High Tech, Hallmark, Lifestyles, Charisma Styles, BM Soat Auto Sales, Zoon Online Shopping, Giftland OfficeMax and Princess Hotel & Casino. The next Pulse event: TEASE this Saturday November 3rd at Palm Court.

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The ‘Night of the Divas’, set for November 17

Lady Saw
Lady Saw

Entertainment lovers are advised to mark their calendars to experience a night of mega Caribbean entertainment. On November 17 Conscious Minds Promotions is set to serve up an all female cast for a ‘November to Remember 2’ mega concert.

Dubbed “The night of the DIVAS” the stadium is already booked and artistes have begun to sign their contracts for the mega inter-regional entertainment event.

On November 17 the event’s lineup brings together acts from Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, and Guyana at the National Stadium, Providence. The lineup includes Queen of the Dance Hall ‘Lady Saw’ and at least five other Caribbean divas spanning the Soca and Dance Hall genres. Event Promoter Iana Lewis says “the idea is to unite the Caribbean women for a night of mega entertainment while celebrating, liberating and empowering women in the face of all the domestic violence that has caused many women to be dead or badly injured.”

Mondale Smith, Public Relations officer said, “This is one of two mega shows that we have got planned for the year as part of efforts to add to the national entertainment product and while it’s a divas concert, it’s for the men to come out with and celebrate their women.”

The last mega event staged stage by Conscious Minds promotions was the ‘I’m ok’ concert headlined by Bennieman and Destra along with Ritchie Loops. That show was sponsored by Banks DIH and Digicel Guyana and was attended by in excess of 10,000 satisfied patrons.

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Stage set for ‘Real’ Bollywood Divas Mega concert in Guyana

Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan (photo taken from last.fm)

With contracts signed and the National Stadium booked all roads lead to the venue for a real Bollywood concert featuring four mega acts dancing and singing in true Bollywood style in Guyana. Through collaboration with Guyanese and Europe based officials boasting decades of experience, Lux Entertainment has been formed and is ready to take Guyana entertainment offerings to another level. “Think of three or more hours of live performances from names straight out of Bollywood: Sunidhi Chauhan, Neha Dhupia, Riya Sen, Rakshanda Khan…we have got them on contract already!” This concert billed for October 29, will redefined mega concerts in Guyana.

Over the years we have seen a plethora of International shows featuring names from Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados. Most recently some have tapped into the North American market while bollywood has only been brushed. We are not brushing; we are digging deep into an industry that’s considered bigger than Hollywood, hence, this mega event. Bollywood Divas Mega Concert is our private imitative aimed at showcasing to the rest of the world that Guyana is as good a venue as any other country to stage mega events. It also is aimed at attracting tourists to the local shows as these artistes are not billed for any other Caribbean country but are celebrated in most. Our package guarantees a real full length enlightenment of dynamic and entertaining showcase for all despite of culture or creed.
Meet the Divas

Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood Such as ‘Desi Girls’, Sheila Ki Jawani, Aaja Nachle and Mere Mehboob etc. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs. She’s is also an excellent exotic high energy Live stage performer. Her breakthrough was Ram Gopal Varma’s film Mast, in which she sang the hit song, “Ruki Ruki Si ZindagiShe has been nominated for fourteen Filmfare Awards, winning it on three occasions. She has won two Star Screen Awards, two IIFA Awards and one Zee Cine Award. And she’s still in Bollywood churning out Movies todate.

Nehia Dhupia
Nehia Dhupia (photo taken from gobollywood.com)

Neha Dhupia
Neha Dhupia is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. She is a former beauty queen and winner of Femina Miss India 2002 and placed in the top ten for the Miss Universe 2002. Dhupia made her acting debut in a play in New Delhi called Graffiti. Thereafter she appeared in a music video for Indipop band Euphoria and also modeled for various advertisement campaigns. She then appeared in the TV serial “Rajdhani”. In 2002 she entered the Femina Miss India pageant finishing in first place, winning the Femina Miss India Universe title, and was subsequently sent to the Miss Universe 2002 pageant in Puerto Rico. She was placed in the top 10. Dhupia made her film debut in the 2003 Bollywood film Qayamat: City Under Threat (2003), and She rose to fame with her role in the film Julie and then appeared in Sheesha (2005) in a dual role of twin sisters, then starred in films such as Kyaa Kool Hai Hum (2005) and Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), which did well at the box office, and also featured in a segment of the anthology film Dus Kahaniyaan (2007). In the following years, Dhupia appeared in supporting roles in multiple critically and commercially acclaimed films including Chup Chup Ke (2006), Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007), Mithya (2008), Maharathi (2008), Singh Is King (2008) and Dasvidaniya (2008). In 2011, she plays Eva Braun in the film Dear Friend Hitler -a film about Mahatma Gandhi. Incidentally she is also a model.

Riya Sen
Riya Sen (photo taken from hotindianactressphotos.com)

Riya Sen
Riya Sen is an Indian film actress and model who hails from a family of actors including her grandmother Suchitra Sen, mother Moon Moon Sen and sister Raima Sen. She began her acting career in 1991 as a child artiste in the film Vishkanya. Her first commercial success in her film career was with Style. Some of her other films include producer Pritish Nandy’s musical film, Jhankaar Beats (2003) in Hinglish, Shaadi No. 1 (2005) Malayalam horror film Ananthabhadram (2005).

Riya was first recognised as a model when she performed in Falguni Pathak’s music video Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi. Since then, she has appeared in music videos, television commercials, fashion shows, and on magazine covers. She has been a heartthrob sensation throughout India and is known for her gorgeous smile. Her most recent films are Paying Guest, Action Replayy and De Dana Dan. She has also worked on her first international project with Chris Kattan in IFC’s Bollywood Hero.

Rakshanda Khan
Rakshanda Khan

Rakshanda Khan is a former Model and a Television Actress, and an Anchor in the Indian Television Industry. She is better known for her role as Mallika Seth in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, Tanya Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, and Roshni Chopra in Kasamh Se. She is the Divas show emcee.

By – Mondale Smith

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Jamzone International Night: Trey Songz, Eve, Timeka Marshall and Gialiani to perform

Jamzone International Night
Jamzone International Night Flier

We’re exactly one week away from the commencement of Guyana’s greatest festival and the atmosphere is pulsating with ‘Jamzone’ fever. Tickets are practically flying off the shelves, stores are restocking their clothing section exclusively with ‘summer’ apparel and patrons abroad are eagerly awaiting their flights to head our way. Among the most talked about events on the roster is the much anticipated and star studded ‘Jamzone International Night’ Super Concert which will feature R&B Superstar Trey Songz and a special guest performance by renowned Hip Hop megastar Eve, as well as supporting acts Timeka Marshall and Don Gialiani.

The general feedback from the local audience has been great since the addition of both artistes consciously targets two separate factions of fans of varying personal interest with one common interest, which is a love for great music.
The organizers have already begun venue preparations to ensure the stage is set to the required International standards and making any adjustments to accommodate varying weather conditions. With partnership from various corporate entities, the Jamzone team is working earnestly to ensure that this year goes down in history as one of the most memorable.

General tickets for this concert and all other Jamzone Summer Break 2011 events with the exception of the Miss Jamzone International Pageant are available at Ashmins Trading while the VIP and Luxury VIP (LVIP) can be obtained from Glamour Designer Brands in the Gizmos and Gadgets Superstore, 13 North Road and Wellington streets. Tickets for the Miss Jamzone International 2011 pageant which will feature eleven delegates from around the Caribbean are currently on sale at the National Cultural Center.

For further information kindly contact our office at 227-0580 or you can simply check out our website at Jamzonesummerbreak.com.

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Windies Salvage Pride But Lose Series

After an impressive showing to win the first three games in the Digicel Home Series, Pakistan suffered their second defeat in front of a sold out crowd at the National Stadium, Providence in the 5th and final One Day International. After winning the toss Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi elected to bat first in hopes of putting up a formidable total. The pitch at providence however proved to be in the favour of the West Indian medium pace bowlers. Very early in the innings there were signs of uneven bounce making it difficult for the visitors to settle and put runs on the board. That proved to be their undoing as Trinidadian medium pacer Ravi Rampaul continued his impressive bowling by varying his pace and taking 4 wickets for a mere 45 runs. The only Pakistan batsman who actually got into a rhythm was all rounder and man of the series Mohammed Hafeez who made 55. Only two other batsmen from the visiting side scored double figures; Umar Akmal who made 24 and 21 year old Mohammed Salman who was unbeaten on 16.

The bowling attack was led by Rampaul but the West Indian captain Darren Sammy also played his part by taking 3 wickets, Dwayne Bravo chipped in by trapping 2 Pakistanis leg before wicket and local spinner Davendra Bishoo did his part by taking 1 wicket. Pakistan did not get the chance to establish a strong partnership after loosing their first wicket for only 16 and were bowled out for 139.

The West Indian openers Lyndel Simmons and Keith Edwards made light work of the 140 target and treated the packed National Stadium to some fireworks completing the run chase in just 23.3 overs. Simmons, who was judged the man of the match, finished on 77 while Edwards made 40. <br><br>In the final analysis the Windies may have salvaged some pride and after the convincing victory may have also gained some momentum. The question remains however if they would be able to continue along that vein for the 1st test match at the same venue. With the addition of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and a pitch friendly to the bowling attack West Indian fans are yearning for another victory.

By Andrew Ross