21 for Nagico Senior Calypso Competition - 10 for RoadMarch

The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) announced on Wednesday that 21 singers have registered to compete in the Nagico Senior Calypso Competition for Carnival 2016. Out of the 21, 10 will move on to the finals after competing in the eliminations to face reigning Calypso Monarch Fish Da Mega Boss.

The Senior Calypso Eliminations are slated for Saturday, April 2 with the finals on Monday, April 25. Both events are sponsored by Nagico who has been the main corporate sponsor of this event for almost a decade. The Senior and Junior Roadmarch competition is also slated to be held on April 2, with the juniors starting earlier in the day.

The Senior Roadmarch Competition will feature 10 singers and the Juniors 5. All events will take place under the tent at Port de Plaisance. It is the Calypso show however, that is expected to be one of the biggest local shows on the Carnival schedule, even after a slight downturn in 2015.

After a year filled with political and social issues, Calypso lovers have already started to express on social media that they expect some “social melee” not just “social commentary” in the Calypso competition. In 2015, Fish was really the only singer that “hit” the politicos for their actions with his winning song and play on words “Focus Up”. “General commentary is nice but the calypso show needs more melee,” one commenter said. “There are enough issues,” he added.

The 21 registered singers are (by their stage names): Baker Jr., King Beau Beau, Barrow, Mighty Dando, Mighty Chipman, Mighty Pepper, The Protégé, The Wizard, D. Monitor, Clement Richards, The Fox, X-Rey, Young Dow, Empress Zee, Lady Tiffany, Shakiya, Lady Baker, Ebony Empress, Lady Upsetter and Roxxy. The singers registered to compete in the Senior Roadmarch Competition are (by the stage names: Apple Jack, Lyrics, Roxxy, Lady Baker, Mighty Chipman, Baker Jr, Mighty Pepper, The Messenger, The Wizard and Barrow.

The foundation, together with Nagico, has also put a plan in place to devote more resources to marketing of the events. In the coming weeks the public will see and hear much more about the shows as well as the individual singers, through various mediums.