History was made last week, when for the first time in Trinidad and Tobago National Calypso Monarch competition the top three places went to women.
Terri Lyons was crowned National Calypso Monarch, while past monarch Karene Asche placed second and Heather McIntosh-Simon came third at the final at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain Trinidad.
With her first song, “Obeah,” Lyons, dressed in a black and red dress with a black hat, sand about people working Obeah to keep people down and steal husbands, “instead of working hard and getting you own bread, they using obeah to get your life instead”.
She also sang about politicians using obeah including the ones who robbed the Treasury but have not “made a jail as yet.”
It was her second song, “Megan My Dear,” which started with a skit of Queen Elizabeth 11 and Prince Harry discussing “black meat,” which delighted the crowd and got the judges nod.
She sang how Harry gave up for “black meat” of his wife Meghan, which was reminiscent off Sparrow’s calypso “Ah Never Eat ah White Meat Yet.”
There were five women among the 12 finalists in the competition.
Lyons joins five other women who have won the Calypso Monarch over the past three decades.
In the Panorama competition, WITO Desperadoes was crowned champion steelband becoming the most decorated in history with 12 Panorama titles. The band previous wins were in 1966, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1991,1994, 1999 and 2016.
The band beat soca star Naila Blackman’s “More Sokah” to get the judges nod for the title.
In the International Power Soca Monarch held at the Queen’s Savannah on Saturday night it took veteran soca star Neil “Iwer’ George 13 years to come back and win the title.
