St Lucia’s Teddyson John Explores Carnival Magic At The Second Staging of “Stripped”
“It’s a dream come true…”
Teddyson John on the second staging of his signature show- Stripped– which gives soca enthusiasts the opportunity to enjoy their favourite songs in a different format.
After the success of the inaugural show last year, scores of people again flocked to the National Academy for the Performing Arts for John’s Soca cabaret. While things didn’t go exactly according to plan, the audience was accepting (and forgiving) and seemed to have a really good time.
To borrow a phrase from Jason “JW” Williams, Teddyson John’s Stripped could be defined as the “fine-dining of Soca.”
The Saint Lucian artiste performed songs from his impressive catalogue, pausing to share sometimes comedic, other times emotional anecdotes about his experience navigating the Soca industry.
As someone who grew up in church, John revealed that he sometimes had to go to extreme lengths to access Soca spaces.
“You know there was youth service on a Friday… where I live there was like a track going down to the house and I used to put the Bible by a banana tree on the side and try to go to see Destra, and today Destra is on stage with me. And you know she come from church too…”
The Queen of Bacchanal showed up and showed out! Soca in its original format doesn’t always present the opportunity for her to showcase her out-of-this-world vocal range. Stripped, however, was the perfect platform for her to remind us of her remarkable talent. Her set included performances of her monster hits Lucy and It’s Carnival.
The NAPA auditorium erupted into cheers of pleasure when the so-called president of the Red Man Association took to the stage. His time on stage was short but remarkably sweet.
“Teddy, congratulations on an amazing event. This is amazing and so much fun to do and I don’t have to sweat as much,” Kees said.
He performed Magic and Tack Back.
Skinny Fabulous was the last of three Soca superstars to hit the Stripped stage. Known for his prolific skill as a singer/songwriter, he had the crowd in stitches- a testament to his killer humour.
His Machel Montano impression caused the crowd to erupt on more than one occasion during his set.
He started with his 2014 mega-hit, Worst Behaviour and ended with Hurricane.
The man of the hour, Teddyson John delivered soulful performances of songs like Everything Good and Kite Sa. Visibly emotional, he gave a moving performance of Vent.
The advertised cast for the event included acts like Nadia Batson, Jimmy October, Mical Teja and Alison Hinds. None of them showed up. Towards the end of the show, John hinted that we were waiting for the 2024 Young King, Mical Teja. Eventually, he apologised and brought the curtain down on what was an enjoyable show despite the some of the advertised acts being no-shows.
Speaking with members of the media after the show, John explained that scheduling conflicts were at the root of the guests not showing up.
“…sometimes in other events that were supposed to start on time they started a little later. Our event normally starts on time, 8 o clock, that’s just what it is. We had a couple of hiccups that we tried to work through and make it work. I sincerely apologise to everybody. The buck stops here and I take full responsibility.”
Asked to comment on his commitment to showing the versatility of Soca music, the Saint Lucian crooner said it’s important to showcase the work of the regional artistes in a different light. He said we continue to do Soca an injustice when we make it seasonal.
“We think after the Carnival season it’s really done but, nah. So this is an opportunity for us to open up and speak to a different audience. There are people here who aren’t really the cooler fete and the rum and jam and this and that, but they would take in something like this. I just figured that we could do something to cater to that palette. By the looks of it, people like it so I’m very grateful for that.”
The Your Caribbean Guide team did a quick pulse-check at the end of the event.
“I was here last year and I’ll be back next year if God spares my life. Teddyson and his team did a great job. Would’ve been nice if the other artistes showed up but, so it goes sometimes. I still had a great time and like I said, I’ll be back,” Yvonne said.
One patron said she couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate her birthday.
“My daughter bought tickets for me and my two girlfriends to come to this show because it’s my birthday. She was here last year but this is my first time. I’m a Carnival baby, a real Soca junky so I wasn’t too sure bout the concept when she explained it but I’m a convert. I get it now, we came, I had a great time and I’ll be back next year.”
Rondell said while he and his party of five had a great time he couldn’t help but feel cheated of the opportunity to win the trip to Saint Lucia.
“I don’t know if I missed something but last year they used the ticket number system to choose a winner so I kinda assumed that would happen this time too. I didn’t too like the way they chose the winner this time, they cheat the rest of us of the chance to win. I not saying I would’ve won if they did it the other way but it would be nice if I had the chance, you get what I’m saying?”
Asked to rate the overall Stripped experience, he said:
“A solid 8 out of 10. One mark deducted for how they chose the trip winner and another one for the set-up artistes that didn’t show up. How they could do the man that? I don’t like that at all. It wasn’t his fault they didn’t come but its his show, so you know…Teddyson John could rel sing and I like how he kept talking to us throughout the show. I like how vulnerable he is too. The world isn’t exactly encouraging of men showing their emotions so I appreciate how open he was. I don’t know the man from Adam but he strike me as a really wholesome, positive fella. I like that. Will I come back, most definitely but tell them go back to the old way of choosing the trip winners please.”
The first individual to buy tickets for this year’s staging of Stripped: The Teddyson John Experience was gifted an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Saint Lucia, courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism.
Congratulations on another great show, Teddy. We’re already counting down to Stripped 2025!
