Copyright newsday
NICOLE THOMAS-CLARKE says her victory in the October Calypso Monarch competition has given her the impetus to work even harder to secure a spot in the National Calypso Monarch finals next year. “I am preparing, working hard to try to sharpen up on all of the little faults that I may have to see if I could really go out there and make it to the Big Yard, Dimanche Gras. I started the gym and I am working on it. I need to land on that stage,” she told Newsday after retaining the crown before a large audience at old Market Square, Scarborough, on October 23. Thomas-Clarke, who earned 460 points and the $100,000 first prize, sang Sacrifice, which dealt with people’s unwillingness to work hard and sacrifice for the things they want. “It is no longer by the sweat of thy brow, they want it now for now,” she sang. The singer, who was dressed in a silver and white flowing dress with an elaborate matching headpiece, also observed that “every Jack and Jill” wants to be a “big shot” overnight without making the necessary sacrifices. She said Sacrifice also reflected her own preparations for the competition. “You always have to try to up your game because you know that everybody coming at you. So you have to try to do something out of the box. It is about sacrifice.” Thomas-Clarke, a loans officer at Republic Bank Ltd, said her victory was a team effort. “It was about seeing how the presentation and music would marry with the lyrics to give an exceptional performance.” She said the future of the artform is in good hands. “The auditions had about 50 persons so the interest is there.” Thomas-Clarke said she also was pleased with the large turnout at the show. Apart from writing her winning song, Thomas-Clarke’s brother, Sheldon Reid, a well-known composer, also wrote tunes for their sister Wendy Garrick and brother Dillon “Dilly Suede” Thomas, who placed second and fourth, respectively, in the competition. Garrick, who has been labouring in the calypso vineyard for many years, sang a pore-raising ditty, titled Family, highlighting the selfishness, greed and bitterness that continues to undermine many families. Urging the audience to not let earthly possessions throw them of track, she said the family is the foundation of the society. “It’s not just blood that connects us but our daily deeds that reflects us,” Garrick sang amid rousing applause from the crowd. For her efforts, she earned 444 points and $75,000. Dilly Suede’s tune, One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure, also went down well with the audience. He got 434 points and $30,000 Giselle “GG” Fraser placed third with No Village Can’t, a powerful social commentary addressing the many ills plaguing young people. She received $50,000. Taking fifth spot was Delanie Baynes with I Dare You, which revisited several of the socio-political issues that grabbed national attention in the past few months. She alluded to the Government’s plan to give public servants a ten per cent wage increase, the public’s high expectations of Prime Kamla Persad-Bissessar in her second term and the need for the Tobago Festivals Commission Ltd to pay calypsonians and other carnival practitioners on time. Zorisha Hackett, THA Secretary of Culture, presented the cheques to the calypsonians. Also on hand for the presentation were Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation president Ainsley King and chair of the Tobago zone, Candice Robinson. The competitors, a mixture of seasoned and burgeoning bards, delivered lyrically sound presentations which tackled a range of issues including the island’s fight for autonomy, the need for people to accept change and respect for the steelpan. Most of them also used dancers, makeshift structures and other props to enhance their presentations. Rhonda John, aka Stay C, sang a smutty selection titled My Popular Neighbour, which had the audience in stitches. She placed tenth in the competition. Alex Gift, who got the competition started, revisited the backlash to the social media video in which Chief Secretary Farley Augustine was seen changing his clothes in a vehicle to attend a funeral. In his tune, Busy, Gift poked fun at Augustine, saying in one of the lines, “I have it up to meh nose, everywhere I changing my clothes.” Veteran calypsonian Lord Nelson (Robert Alphonso Nelson), Benjai (Rodney Le Blanc), Johnny King, Myron B and King Unique (Jeffrey Thomas) entertained the crowd before the results were announced. OFFICIAL RESULTS 1) Nicole Thomas-Clarke 2) Wendy Garrick 3) Giselle Fraser 4) Dillon Thomas 5) Delanie Baynes 6) Wendell Frederick 7) Alex Gift 8) Jacklyn Reid 9) Roslyn Reid 10) Rhonda John 11) Dionne Nicola Phillips
