SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--Although all four women who entered the NAGICO Calypso Eliminations on Saturday night made it through to the finals, the small group of singers known as the "big boys" of Calypso reminded everyone that they are still a force to be reckoned with this year.

King Beau Beau (425 points), Kaiso Brat (400) and Fish Da Mega Boss (389) finished in first, second and third place (respectively) and led the pack of 10 who will now move on to face the reigning Calypso Monarch Ruminni "The Protége" Rogers on April 26, in the Carnival Village. The Senior Calypso Eliminations was held in front of a capacity crowd at Celebration Palace.

The rest of the 10 finalists are (in order from four to 10) Roxy (388), The Wizard (376), Baker Jr. (371), Calypso Empress (356), Shakiya (340), Lady Tiffany (334) and X-Rey (329).

Going into these eliminations, most of the hype was around and created by the competing ladies, three of whom are newcomers to the Senior Calypso field: Calypso Empress, Shakiya and Lady Tiffany.

With the exception of Roxy, who has been competing against the "big boys" for a number of years, the other ladies all had one central message in their songs: it was time that St. Maarten crown its first female Calypso Monarch.

It started with Z'haira "Calypso Empress" Richardson who proclaimed with her song that Calypso is "Not a Man Ting." This proclamation was followed by Shakiya who demanded that "St. Maarten better crown" a female Calypso monarch this year. Tiffany then completed the message by stressing that it is "Time for a Female" and asked the ladies in attendance to scream if they want a queen.

Roxy did not borrow a page from that book, however, with her song "Universal," which focused on the fact that events, disease, crime etc. are universal issues that every nation, no matter its size, has to deal with competently. In the end all four made it through to the finals where they will now have to sing two songs on a much bigger stage with US $10,000 on the line.

As for those "big boys," Beau Beau, 11-time Calypso Monarch, scored the most points of the eliminations with his song "Husband." It carried a different sound and tempo than the typical Calypso tune and brought the house to its feet with its call to men to love, respect, hug, and take care of their wives rather than their "side tings."

He was followed closely by 10-time Calypso Monarch Kaiso Brat with his tune "Who in Control," which questioned who is really in control on St. Maarten with everything that is going on. Fish Da Mega Boss, three-time Calypso Monarch, placed third highest in the eliminations with "In Reverse" lamenting the fact that instead of moving forward, the actions of government and/or elected representatives have the island and its people moving in reverse.

The Calypso Eliminations featured 16 singers. president of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) Mike Granger said the eliminations and the 10 singers who made it through have set the stage for a very exciting showdown on April 26.

"It only gets tougher from here. Singing and performing two quality songs is not easy on that stage in Carnival Village. All of the singers did a good job and the final 10 are really a powerful final 10. When you add the reigning king to the mix, it should be a very exciting show," Granger said.

"We were extremely happy with the turnout; with so many events happening on Saturday night to have a full house shows that people are ready for Carnival 2015. It started with our jump-ups, continued with the Teen and Senior Speech and Cultural Wear Competition, and now the NAGICO Calypso Eliminations. All shows were either sold-out or close to it. We thank the public, our sponsor NAGICO and everyone else who continue to ensure that Carnival and its shows keep growing every year," Granger added.

Minister of Culture Rita Bourne-Gumbs and Member of Parliament (MP) Tamara Leonard were in attendance. Leonard added additional promotion to the show by posting updates and videos of the performances the entire night via her Facebook page.