By: St. Clair Sazam Hull
Nevispages.com
(CHARLESTOWN NEVIS)- Saturday, August 03, 2013 saw the hosting of the Calypso Monarch competition at the Cultural Complex for Culturama 2013.
The quality performances, delivered by all the finalists were appreciated by the packed-to-capacity crowd that witnessed the tightest competition in a long time.
The first round started out with Carlisle ‘Bhingi’ Pemberton who got the crowd going with his first song of the night, ‘We Want We SIDF Money’. Those in attendance sang along with the popular song and by the time he was through, the audience gave him a rousing applause.
The only woman in the lineup, Lady Conscious also had the crowd rocking with her performances. She sang ‘Empower our Women’ and ‘Bush Doctor’.
Pupa Wheeler, Astro, Baker, Hollywood, Dis N’ Dat and Nutsy all gave their best performances, leaving the crowd unsure of who might be in the lead at the end of round one.
As the show moved into the second round, things got more and more intense and the performance of most the calypsonians were even better than that in the first round.
By the end of the second round, the faces of the fans that had come to support their favorite calypsonians were blank. It was such a tight and unpredictable competition that there was no distinct response when the MC asked who the crowd thought was the winner.
When it was time for the official results, everyone seemed to be holding on to the edges of their seats. Without a doubt, the most humorous performer for the night was ‘Puppa Wheeler’ who virtually left the crowd in stitches with his tune, ‘Something Funny’.
The second runner- up position went to Astro who received 816 points for his two songs, ‘Eat Local’ and ‘Living Room’. First runner-up went to the Reigning King; Dis N Dat who gained a maximum of 839 points with his two tunes, ‘Thank You Lord’ and ‘Culturama On The Rise’.
After the MC had announced the first runner-up there was no uncertainty as to whom the winner was and the crowd started to chant ‘Bhingi’.
The judges unanimously agreed that he was beyond his competitors and gave him a tally of 844 points for his two songs, ‘SIDF and ‘Mr. Fix It’ and in the process crowning him Calypso Monarch 2013 for Culturama 39.
Overall the show was well attended and intense from start to finish, and everyone left knowing that they had witnessed Nevis calypso at its best.