BASSETERRE St. Kitts – THE National Senior Calypso Competition came to an end last evening (Dec. 28) at the Sugar Mill in Warner Park as the very talented Hansill ‘Richie’ Buntin was crowned this year’s Calypso Monarch.
This year’s competition saw the performance of eight of the Federation’s top artistes who, in a two-round battle, sang with fierce energy to the liking of the crowd and the standards of the judges.
The Kaiso event also registered the largest turnout of patrons since the Calypso Tents kicked off some weeks ago, including the elimination rounds which were held at a number of venues across the Federation.
Like the previous nights of competition, the artistes were judged on Lyrics (40 points), Music (30) and Performance (30), giving them a total of 100 points.
The winning performance
The new Calypso King, in his first round performance, belted out a song called ‘Leave Dem in De Dust’, which thrilled the crowd as he did at last week’s Semi-Finals with the same song.
In his second appearance onstage, Buntin sang ‘Saving Grace’. This piece had taken the setting of a church-like atmosphere, where a pastor stood at a pulpit and preached about prayers and how important they were to the nation.
Following the sermon, Richie Buntin, dressed in a pearly white suit, with his signature moves came onstage and explained to the audience that the nation needs to get on its knees and pray for the Federation.
In that song, he explained to the many in attendance that only prayers could heal the nation which is divided by political rivalry.
Buntin however did not receive the crowd’s applause like the other contenders on completion of their songs, but, undauntedly, he left the stage with his team of actors to the sounds of the tune.
The Runners-up
There was utter silence in the Sugar Mill when the Master of Ceremonies (MC), DJ Kevy Kev, announced the names of the three Runners-up.
In the view of many who attended the annual event the Runners-up positions were a bit of a surprise. But despite that, some among the crowd applauded those artistes who did not make the top spots.
Oscar ‘Astro’ Browne, with a total of 570 points was adjudged Third Runner-up, while Jacqueline ‘Singing Jackie’ Leader, one of the crowd’s favourite, took the Second Runner-up position with 586 points.
However, some patrons claimed that the surprise of the night came when Devon ‘Lord Kut’ Liburd was announced as the First Runner-up with 601 points, which was followed with the MC bellowing that Richie Buntin was the 2013/2014 National Calypso Monarch with 617 points.
Many people seated in the stands and also those on the ground began to leave the Stadium in anger and were heard casting unsavory remarks during the coronation of the Calypso King, among which was “leave dem in de dust”.
Richie Buntin was crowned by Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr Denzel Douglas who was ably assisted by Minister of Health and Culture Hon. Marcella Liburd.
Years inwait…
A very humble Buntin, in an exclusive interview with SKNVibes Entertainment after his first win at this competition, said that he felt very ecstatic about his accomplishment after competing since 1997.
“It was very hectic logistically because I spent the last four days making every prop that I presented myself. Also, believe it or not, it was crazy because the performance you saw onstage, all that was rehearsed and pulled together backstage tonight”, Buntin explained.
The new king revealed to this publication that throughout the years of competing, the foundation and driving force behind entering the competition was never to be the king, but it was more of a contribution to better the art form.
When asked about his reaction to the first win, Buntin said: “I was very confident that I would have won based on the criteria the judges set. I don’t think there was anybody that was close to me with criteria. I am not one who writes to really stir up the crowd, because it is not in the criteria.”
Buntin added that he plans to perform in Anguilla and that “I will be defending my crown next year. It would be wrong to win it the first time and not to defend it”.
