It was a Calypso Shocker in Saint Vincent as Shernelle "Skarpyon" Williams dethroned Fya Empress and became the new Calypso Monarch of SVG. Skarpyon was not originally selected for the finals but was added late when one contestant dropped out. Last years winner Fya Empress placed second in last night's competition. I guess the only person who knew this would happen was "Skarpyon" himself; he was not on the radar!
Last night, it seemed like no one wanted to 'grab the proverbial bull by the horns' and drive away with the first prize car. Everyone was waiting for someone to seize the moment and that came with the last performance of the evening. "Chang I" sang a spirited uptempo song that finally added a festive feel to the competition. Overall it was not a stellar night for Calypso in Saint Vincent! Some of the discussions focused on the semi final round with the idea of having the contestants sing two songs instead of one to qualify for the finals. The thought process is that the persons with the best 'two songs' will end up in the finals. This would avoid surprises for the finals and in this case, boring songs!
It was interesting to listen to the commentary of the radio hosts who were on the scene watching the presentations and stage performances. They were very hard on the singers and seemed to be very disheartened by the performances in the second round. Most people expect the singers to present their best song for the second round. The first round should have provided the building blocks for some stellar performances in the second round. However, that did not happen last night and people were scrambling to select a winner.
In the end, it appeared that "Chang I" was the one individual who wanted to be Monarch with his bubbly patriotic song titled 100% Vincy. However, that was not the case when the results were announced. The first place winner was a shock! No one selected Skarpyon to place tonight but in the end he was crowned the new Calypso Monarch of Saint Vincent. Hey, this is one for the record books!
Here are the official results:
Here are the official results:
- Skarpyon - Song of Hope/Until
- Fya Empress - My Gratitude/Just
- Dennis Bowman - Song They Hear/Way Ye Dey | Shaunelle McKenzie - Mama/I Will Never Be A Politician (Tie)