Calypso Monarch 2014 Kankalang | Was Mr. Shak Robbed?

He say, she say and 'dem say' has a way of creating problems especially when there appears to be some sort of impropriety regarding a competition. In this case it is rumored that Mr. Shak was leading the Calypso Monarch competition and should have been declared winner until.... yes until the score sheet was supposedly tampered with and Chucky was declared the winner! 

If that is the case then this is the absolute worse thing that could have taken place as far as TUCO is concerned. The calypso competition was the best show for Carnival 2014. The Soca Monarch was terrible and a very big disappointment but then came the mother art-form to the rescue. Calypsos this year were excellent and the semi final round was very difficult to judge.
According to a 'source' the results were Mr. Shak in first place with Kurt Allen second place.  Now here is something to take note of... it is reported that one of the judges on the panel is related to Chucky. It has been said that this judge had a say regarding the final points awarded thereby changing the order of the final places. Hmm.. that is trouble in paradise and the making for some seriously disturbing 'kankalang'. I get it that Carnival without some bacchanal is not carnival at all but if any of this is true then it was a sad day/night for Calypso... they ruined a damn good year of really good music!

Here is an excerpt from an article that appeared in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper:
"Selvon 'Mistah Shak' Noel, who placed third in this year’s National Calypso Monarch competition, is now calling for an overhaul of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organization (TUCO) judging system. He made the call yesterday after saying he was told a National Carnival Commission (NCC) official indicated he was in front following Sunday’s Dimanche Gras show at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, but eventually ended up third, behind Roderick “Chucky” Gordon and Kurt Allen, after the results were doctored.

In an e-mail sent to undisclosed recipients yesterday, the Siparia bard said the NCC official told one of his friends: “D judges original scores really had yuh pardner Mistah Shak winning de monarch & Kurt 2nd!” The e-mail went on to claim that the NCC official said the fact that Gordon’s “stepmother” was on the judging panel swayed the results in his favor. 

Noel sang Bois, one of the more popular songs in the semifinal and final, and Crime Round D Clock, while Gordon sang Weh Yuh Think and Wedding of De Century before an appreciative crowd on Sunday. However, the result was still being debated on the radio airwaves and across social networks yesterday, although there was still a division on whether the results were just."

It look like it is 'Bois' for the judges and if TUCO can't resolve this issue soon then it is "Bois" for the executive at that organization. Mistah Shak was a favorite to win but he did not connect with the audience with his other song. It is a shame that we have to be in this place. We have a declared winner in Chucky Gordon... is he really the Calypso Monarch of Trinidad and Tobago?

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Dorrick Nurse said…
No performer's relatives should be on the panel of judges. Could they find someone else ?