Music is therapy for the soul—especially calypso. Laughter, food for thought, clever play on words and an encore, you can get it all.
Seasoned calypsonians like Herb Black, Pep, T.C. Brown,Educator and Di Invader make local calypso even better. These calypsonians and a number of others paved the way for young calypsonians today.Today, the ‘big league’ boasts the likes of Oshun, Ready, Lil Nick and Ti Blacks, young promising calypsonians, who can surely give some veterans a run for their money.
A number of local singers started their journey at a young age. Some watched the big timers on TV at home during calypso season and others attended the shows. Then there are those who are in a league of their own… those who started performing before they even hit secondary school, and others, a little later.
In fact, we’ve seen Lil Nick a former student of the Corinth Secondary School and Ti Blacks, a former student of the Augier Secondary School, perform at the Junior Calypso Competition many times. There, Lil Nick, a former Junior Calypso Monarch, and Ti Blacks, a runner-up, sang their hearts away; on stage, they were fearless.
The competition hasbirthed many excellent calypsonians. This year, a number of students participated in the event which was held on June 6th and 7th at the National Cultural Centre. On the first day, primary school students showed the judges just what they were made of.
The young students performed effortlessly and were eager to take the crown back to their school, but of course, the crown was made only for one. Their teachers and peers cheered them on, some proudly showing off posters and t-shirts with their schoolmate’s likeness.
One by one they performed, but in the end Mighty Lily’s ‘Tribute to Teacher’ won judges over;she was small, but ‘Mighty’ indeed.
Artistes like Teddyson John and Shemmy J also spiced things up with their hits. From ‘Parlez’ to ‘Bouncing’… students surely had a good time.
The next day, the secondary school students fought for the crown. At the end, Sweet E who told the crowd ‘Don’t Judge Me by What You See,’ emerged victorious.
The results in both categories were close; Mighty Lily won by one point and Sweet E, two.
Results
Primary School Category
Junior Calypso Monarch – Lilian Harlow (Canon Laurie Anglican Infant)- 346 pts.
2nd place – Kennisha Joseph (Ti Rocher RC Primary) 345 pts.
3rd place – David Dosithee (Grand Riviere Primary) 339 pts.
Secondary School Category
Junior Calypso Monarch – Esther Richard (Corinth Secondary) 383 pts.
2nd place – Kishana Smith (Castries Comprehensive) 381 pts.
3rd place – Simonia Jackson (Bocage Secondary) 343 pts.
