BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LIKE a star in the sky she brightly shone and majestically stood out among the rest. She wowed the audience with her elegance and diction, and at 12:45 this morning (Dec. 30) she was crowned the new Digicel Haynes Smith Caribbean Talented Teen Queen.
She is Junika Berry and her efforts have given St. Kitts its second consecutive win at this prestigious Pageant.
The beautiful and intelligent 16-year-old amassed 785 points, snagged two of the five judged segments and showed the judges that she was indeed queen material in winning their nods.
The show opened with a performance by a dance group, which was immediately followed by members of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force and the Coast Guard presenting the young ladies in their Ambassadorial Wear.
With 166.5 points, the Berry won the Best Ambassadorial Wear segment, donning a short green dress with ruffles on the top half of her body and covered by a long white skirt adorned with multicoloured gems.
In this segment, she spoke, in her Introductory Speech, about the Kittitian Hill development in St. Paul’s Village and the attraction it adds to the Sk. Kitts Tourism Industry.
The dance group also opened the Production Number which introduced the former queen, Siobhan Phipps, who was joined by her ‘Royal Subjects’ - the contestants.
They all wore dresses depicting the British Flag, reminding everyone in attendance that they all came from British royalty.
Berry also captured the win for this segment.
First Runner-up was the youngest contestant, 14-year-old Aniah John who represented the United States Virgin Islands. She tallied 774.5 points and took two of the five judged segments in the process.
John won the Best Talent segment with 347.5 points, appearing on stage painted into an image of a butterfly. She stunned the audience and also the judges when she peeled herself away from the painting and did an emotional dance to Alicia Keys' ‘Girl On Fire’ song, sending a message that one does not have to blend in to society but, could instead, stand out.
John also captured the Evening Wear segment when she emerged onstage in a yellow diamond encrusted gown entitled Caribbean Splendour.
The dress fitted snugly at the top and flowed from waist to ankle with drapes of light blue and yellow pieces covering the skirt of the gown. Silver rhinestones formed a heart at the bust and silver accessories adorned her ears, neck and wrists.
Miss Anguilla, 16-year-old Dwayniqua Baird, captured the Second Runner-up position with 744.5 points.
She also copped the award for Best Interview, giving a superlative answer to her question without fumbling. She also won the title of Miss Photogenic.
Speaking with the new queen, Berry told this media house that she was pleased with her win, but claimed it was rather difficult for her to find one word to describe her feelings.
"I am happy, excited, ecstatic, elated, thrilled, overjoyed...I cannot even find one word to describe it all. It was a lot of hard work but I was determined and I am happy that I won."
Berry said that she hopes to inspire other young ladies to get into pageantry and be a role model for young persons. She said she also hopes to gain more friends, noting that she made quite a few from the pageant.
The other participating countries were Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Nevis and St. Lucia.
The show also saw performances by a number of local artistes including Footsy, Vybz, Ali D and the KC5 Band.
Jamaican artiste G Whizz also made a guest appearance and wowed the audience with a 'hype' performance, belting out tunes such as ‘Life’.
The show took place at the Sugar Mill in Warner Park and was hosted by former Calypso Monarch and Miss United States Caribbean Queen, Stacy Greene.
