Skarpyon dethrones Nedd, takes Calypso Monarch crown

Shernelle “Skarpyon” Williams says being crowned Calypso Monarch is a dream come true.{{more}}

The bard, who almost did not compete in the finals, not having been among the intial ten selected to compete against last year’s monarch Lornette “Fya Empress” Nedd, says his victory is inspirational.

He said the song “Until”, which he performed in both the semi-finals and the finals last Sunday evening, was one of the better songs he has ever written.

Describing it as a masterpiece, Skarpyon said he was pleased with its composition, arrangement and musical development.

“The song was really touching social issues that affect us in the world, and until we make the changes, things are just going to be the same.”

Skarypon said when initially, he was not chosen as a finalist in the competition, he could not understand why.

“I don’t see anything that was wrong with the song. I had no doubt in my mind that the song was a good song.

“Now, while I was performing at the semis, everyone thought that my performance was good enough to book a place in the calypso finals.

“Unfortunately when the results were called that night, my name was not called in the top ten. And that caused dissatisfaction with the audience and persons who were there to witness my performance,” he added.

The former singer in the national youth band said he “took it easy” after the results were aired.

“But of course when I heard the other songs that were selected, I was like, if these songs are selected, why is it that my song was not selected?

“So I said something definitely had to be wrong there.

“I even went home and did a review of my performance to see if there were any faults.

“This is something that I really put my heart into and honestly I cannot see why I was not selected,” the young man, who hails from the Marriaqua Valley stated.

Williams disclosed that after being selected to the finals, his main focus was not just to win the crown.

“I just wanted to sing for the people… The two songs were definitely good for the finals and for the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines to enjoy…

“In this day and age, when you have new persons coming with new ideas and new talents, they have to give a good expression of themselves, and I am one of those persons.

“I just had to go out there and not to prove to nobody but to go and do my best and I did just that,” he added.

He, however, noted that he is “really happy” to have been crowned Calypso Monarch of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

“This is one of the most prestigious titles in my opinion for me, because calypso really started me off in the early days of singing junior calypso…

“This is just a dream come true and it is one of the most inspirational times in my life and career,” Skarpyon added.

Skarpyon dethroned last year’s monarch, Lornette “Fya Empress” Nedd-Reid, to win his first national Calypso Monarch crown with his songs “Until” and “Song of Hope”.

Apart from the crown, Skarpyon also won the prize money of EC$25,000 and a Nissan Skyline car.

Fya Empress was second, with “Just” and “My Gratitude”, while Shaunelle McKenzie and Dennis Bowman tied for third. McKenzie sang “I would never be a politician” and “Mama Cry”. Bowman sang “Songs they hear” and “Way ye dey”. The other finalists were Javelle “Lady Diya” Frank, John Dougan, Glenroy “Homey” Delpesche, Glen “Bump I” Richards, Glenford “Azarah” Charles, Carlos “Chang I” Morgan and Grantley “Ipa” Constance.(AA)