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Honey Bun's Grand Hoorah

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Biko Kennedy, Youthlink Writer

The Honey Bun School Dayz Tour came to an official end at Hope Garden's Shelbond Stand on Friday, July 6, where the new singathon winner was crowned. Though plagued by rainfall, the ceremony for the seventh staging of the competition got off to a good start and suitable musical selections kept everyone's spirit buoyant.

With energy and enthusiasm Antoinette Morgan, Honey Bun's promotions and customer service manager, kept the programme flowing smoothly, and the small crowd appreciated her effort wholeheartedly.

First, there was a dance off, then a quick bun-eating competition. Soon after was the face-off between the singathon contestants and this was the most-talked-about aspect of the day's proceedings. Daina Fletcher of St Jago High and Nikita Connoley from The Queen's School brought their A-game. Nikita performed first. Her 'Pamputtae-esque' vocal style sizzled and none in the crowd cheered louder than her mother, Kim Daley. Daina then counterpunched and smoothly glided her lyrics over the instrumental for Chris Brown's 2011 smash Look At Me Now.

During the judges' deliberation there were presentations to the top schools, concessionaires, students and round-two singathon winners. However, with the scores being too close to call, Daina and Nikita had to perform once more to ear-splitting screams. In the end, Nikita was identified as crowd favourite and crowned winner.

"Naturally, I wanted to win," chuckled Nikita, "but I have to tip my hat to my competitor Daina for putting up a fierce fight. Everybody knows, though, that the ladies from The Queen's School never back down from a challenge," she continued.

"I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't win but I can say that I've learnt a lot about myself over the course of this competition," stated Daina. "I had entered in the previous staging, and to just see how much I've come out of my shell of shyness is a big win for me. Coming second isn't anything to be sad about ... just to think of the number of students who entered the competition and I came second is a feat in itself," she assured.

Closing off the evening with performances from DJ Bambino and guest artiste Demarco, the Honey Bun School Dayz tour yelped its final hoorah then headed back to the drawing for the 8th staging. "With this staging we learnt a lot from onlookers and a number of persons who were involved. As the competition grows we'll certainly grow with it and ensure that we garner as much positive feedback as possible," intimated Krystal Chong, marketing manager of Honey Bun Limited. 

See photo highlights here: http://youthlinkjamaica.com/gallery/honey-buns-grand-hoorah