Don and Donna Win $10,000 on KTV Duets
The excitement could hardly be contained at the closing show of KTV Duets on Tuesday night at the Bliss. The fifteen-week show went off with a bang; it started with sixteen duos and after weekly eliminations three remained as the finalists. At the Bliss, the fans and supporters were holding on to their seats in anticipation of this year’s champion. Before that announcement, Arlen and Jeannie from Roaring Creek, Bryan and Kevin from Belize City and Don and Donna from Dangriga went on stage for a final performance for this season. It was bitter sweet as they thanked the audience before the big announcement. News Five’s Delahnie Bain went back stage and on onstage for reaction from the champs.
Delahnie Bain, Reporting
With the judging and the voting out of the way, tension filled the air at the Bliss as the three KTV Duets finalists had their last performances of the season and anxiously awaited the announcement of the winner. We spoke to them as they prepared to go on stage and the general sentiment was a combination of nervousness and excitement.
Jeannie Brooks
Jeannie Brooks, KTV Duets Finalist
“I feel anxious, I feel a little bit nervous. It’s down to like minutes and I’m just waiting to see who’s number one; who gets the money and who gets the title.”
Arlen Ireland, KTV Duets Finalist
“I just can’t wait mein. I can’t wait until Duets done cause ih mi too hectic. But I enjoyed the moment, I enjoyed it. Now all weh I have to do dah just mek mi heart beat fast until time fi di winner.”
Brian Gabb, KTV Duets Finalist
Brian Gabb
“We noh really nervous. Like we just go wid it; who win, win. If we come een third and thing we just go wid it. But we had wah good time and everything good.”
Kevin Thompson, KTV Duets Finalist
“I’m kinda bubbling inside and the tension is there and whatever we place, I’m comfortable with it cause we made it in the top three.”
Donna Neal, KTV Duets Finalist
“We’re feeling nervous a bit but excited at the same time.”
Don Neal
Don Neal, KTV Duets Finalist
“Excited because we still see it as another opportunity to bring another show to the Bliss. We’ve spent more time concentrating on creating our performance than actually thinking about the outcome.”
All three finalists left the nerves in the dressing room and went all out as they took the stage and officially bid farewell to their fans.
{Highlight of performances…}
Then it came down to the moment they’d all been working toward. The duets and the audience collectively held their breath as the KTV Duets champion and ten thousand dollar grand prize winner was named.
Donna Neal, KTV Duets Champion 2011
Donna Neal
“Hard work pays off. I haven’t slept for a while now I’m so proud of myself and my dad. I love you dad.”
Delahnie Bain
“So what was going through your minds standing up here, waiting for the final announcement?”
Don Neal
“I think that really was the shaky part. But to tell the truth, mein we had a lot of good comments while campaigning and those are some of the comments that really placed us on an easier scale more than anything else. So as much as it was a bit shaky but we were looking for it because it’s a text vote thing. I had to feel what the people felt.”
Kevin Thompson
Donna Neal
“On the stage, it was shaky indeed. I wasn’t really thinking anything but my heart was pumping really fast.”
Second place went to Arlen and Jeannie while Kevin and Brian placed third. And while there can only be one winner, the experience was rewarding and opens new doors for the runners up.
Brian Gabb
“Extremely, extremely fun. Words can’t seh how much fun we had dah duets and how we just gone through the competition wid wah easy fly and everything good. Ih gone too fast. I feel like the competition just gone too fast and we wah miss it.”
Kevin Thompson
“I hope they have another show or maybe we can go on Channel 5 and do some more shows for everybody because I know they like us so maybe we can do some more.”
Jeannie Brooks
“I learned stuff about myself and I learned what the crowd likes from me and I learned that people love Belizean artists and they’re just waiting for us to come out and show what we have and that’s what Der and I are doing in this competition; we’re giving back to the people who originally encouraged us.”
Arlen Ireland
Arlen Ireland
“I enjoyed every experience and everything. I just do this fi my fans, everybody support me musically. I do this fi Roaring Creek because we di try mek something good come out ah Roaring Creek and basically I just want showcase my talent; hopefully something good come out of it.”
Meanwhile, Don and Donna have big plans for the big cash prize they walked away with.
Don Neal
“I work with a guy in Dangriga that works with a youth football league and we had talked about trying to find ways of upgrading what we’re doing with the kids and trying to create some more initiative in what we’re doing. We had planned that we can use the three top players on the team and take them to Honduras so they can see the Belizean guys up there; see how they live, see how the game plays out and see if that can motivate them. So that’s the portion I’m hoping she gives to me to be able to use to do that.”
Delahnie Bain
“And you’re good with that?”
Donna Neal
“I’m good with that. I’m good with that and school. My money is going toward school.”
Don and Donna also won tickets to anywhere in the US courtesy of American Airlines as well as a long list of additional prizes. Delahnie Bain for News Five.
It’s refreshing to see a father and daughter doing and accomplishing something positive out of Griga, there are still some good, sound fathers with good moral standings in this place. Whenever I would start to read about a father and daughter out of Griga I would stop reading and didn’t go any further. Don, big-up uself bredda, job well done.
Ja Ja C, While that thought is refreshing, I tend to wonder if this duo feel content as if they won this KTV Duets Competition because they were the best candidate vying for this title. I followed this competition from the start and myself as well as thousands of other Belizeans know in their heart personally that Duo N0. 1 – (Arlen and Jeannie) should have won!!!!. And the judges know it too. This is the reason why I do believe that even though we had our way in the competition through text, that the judges should have had their way in the end. If they did, the competition would have had a different swing to it because they themselves knew that Duo No.1 should have won. While Donna was not the best vocalist, she is young and vibrant and determined so I do give her credit for that. However, Don sounded like like a wet puss eena bag!!! – he was nasty, rude, hostile and impossible to deal with on the stage that I tend to get humiliated to see his reaction/behavior on the stage toward the hosts – he didnt take criticism very well because he thought he was the next Elvis Presley —-NOT!!!!!!!!!. So in the end it was all Donna who won that competition because she carried her father throughout the entire competition. In closing, Im saddened because we adopt so much from America that even in the end money plays a very important role in our lives and not REAL TALENT.. Congratulations Arlen and Jeannie – you two are the real KTV Duets and Belize know that.
well finally someone won the $10,000 but they didn’t deserved it because de gaan all da cayo round sacred heart and get bout wa $1000 n da d ppl de vte but d judges shud hve a say!
peace!