Calypso Monarch Dezral.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia--There was some booing and jeering following the announcement of the winner of the National Calypso Monarch in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
What appeared to be a very unpopular decision with many, also resulted in some fracas backstage among camps, warranting the intervention of the police.
The National Calypso Monarch Competition held at the Sab in Vigie on Saturday, July 13, featured 10 competitors. Among them were seven former monarchs and two first-time finalists. Two female competitors were also in the mix.
The finalists were former Monarchs Dezral, Educator, Herb Black, Menell, TC Brown and Ti Caro, newcomers Gumption and Mica as well as Solange. The defending Calypso Monarch was Ti Blacks.
Many pundits had declared from the jump that the race was too close to call. However, Menell, who was making a comeback this year, had stirred the passions of calypso fans with “Diary of a Woman”. Gumption was also a dark horse in the race, having created a stir with his two songs “White Lady” and “Clone Them”, while Herb Black had once again garnered the support of fans at the tents, from his first performance.
On the night, the competitors came on strong with moving stage presentations and delivery. The appearance of “Fish” during Dezral’s performance wowed the audience; Menel broke into tears during her performance, Gumption represented well for the south, while Ti Blacks made a plea to society to focus on mental health issues.
In the end Dezral, the son of retired calypsonian the Mighty Pep, came out on top, scoring a total of 785 points with his songs “De Big Guns” – a tribute to Julien Alfred; and “Looking for Fish”, which paid tribute to cultural icon George “Fish” Alphonse. Dezral scored 49 points ahead of first runner-up TC Brown, who performed “Our Leaders” and “Iyanola”, scoring 736 points.
In third place was Menell with 734 points and in fourth, Herb Black with 733.
The results were announced shortly after 2:00am.
Among the disappointments expressed openly by fans following the announcement, was the disparity in the scores between the winner and the first runner-up and the non-placement of Gumption as well as Ti Blacks. ~ St. Lucia Times ~
