Innis Francis
innis_francis@yahoo.com
Five former calypso monarchs from a field of 11 are in the race for a chance to dethrone 2019 winner Ronaldo London at the Queen’s Park Savannah on February 20.
The semifinal was held at Guarcara Park, Point-a-Pierre on Saturday of which 40 calypsonians competed for a chance at the coveted title.
From as earl as 1 pm the competition began at the new venue and saw calypso enthusiast trickling in with their groups with cooler, bags, tables and chairs to hear “kaiso kaiso.”
The competition, dating back to 1939 when Growling Tiger won the competition with his rendition of Trade Union, have grown and has become one of the much anticipated events for calypsonians and fans alike during Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival season.
Despite the minor hiccups early on in the show, entrants to the competition seemed raring to hit the stage with song.
Some calypsonians, with props, aimed to capture the topic of song took a little longer than others, while some missed the mark due to the organisers technical problems and felt cheated of a chance to deliver effectively.
This was evident for Tameika Darius who said while she was waiting to go on stage she requested four microphones to accompany her performance. She said even when it was set up they were switched off during her presentation.
Darius’ Long Before J’ouvert political infused presentation did not earn her a place into the finals even after the challenges were rectified and she sang.
The Point Fortin entertainer said she was not happy by the outcome and will consider her options going forward.
Notable absent from the competition was the hard-hitting renditions of political issues as was the norm in the past.
Most of the entrants into this year’s finals songs rallied around social issues relative to a modern society.
It was obvious with the usual crew stage side that apart from not settling in at the venue the songs was not what they went to hear.
Some made mention of their disappointment for the lack of strong lyrical content.
However, as patrons cheered and request encores for whom they found entertaining even fell short of a spot into the finals.
As the evening proceedings drew nearer the end guest performances by Nadia Batson, Skinny Banton, Scrunter and Blaxx and the All Stars seemed to wet patrons appetites as they dance and found eventual merriment.
This year’s entrants into the finals consist of Brian London (Boo)
Duane O’Connor - (Not in Here)
Heather Mc Intosh-Simon - (Claude)
Hollis (Chalkdust) Liverpool – (Murder Frenzy)
Karene Asche – (Winners Never Quit)
Kurt Allen - (Justice)
Michelle Henry – (The Guest List)
Rondell Donawa –(We So Cold)
Sonia (Singing Sonia) Francis – (Welcome to Chinatown)
Terri Lyons –(Meghan My Dear)
Winston (Gypsy) Peters – (Way of the World)
Rookie to the competition Aaron Duncan, who sang, Why are We Here is in reserve.
Weston (Cro Cro) Rawlins – We Going and Vote was the People’s Choice but did not make a place in the finals.