Calypsonian Winston Scarborough, fondly known as the Original De Fosto Himself, says reigning monarch Kurt Allen's song Too Bright was "awesome." But he was concerned whether second place contestant Brian London broke the rules by having fellow kaisonian Brother Valentino sing an entire verse and chorus before he came on stage.
Scarborough, too, was a crowd favourite, with In A Palace State of Mind, which earned him third place in the Dimanche Gras finals, at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, on Sunday night. In a telephone interview, Scarborough said, "I saw his presentation. I have to give Jack his jacket. In this case, I have to give Kurt his jacket. It was really awesome and the tune Too Bright had its own merit. He delivered a wonderful performance."
Scarborough also expressed his pleasure at the younger bards who were in the finals like Brian London, who placed second and Devon Seales, who placed 12. London sang Ah Calypsonian and Seales, a past student of Arima Government Secondary School, sang A Wind of Change.
"I always tell them to deal with issues profoundly. I recognise it has paid off for Kurt Allen," said Scarborough.
Scarborough said he was a little concerned when London invited Valentino to sing a whole verse and chorus of one of his songs.
"I found that was an unfortunate move. He could have used Valentino's melody. Valentino was there and the judges should have known forthwith that that was disqualification. I guess I would need to hear from the judges whether it was acceptable." On a personal note, Scarborough said he would have "to lick his wounds and come again."
