Tajoe to battle 11 in historic calypso finals

On Sunday, July 9, during this year’s Calypso finals/Dimanche Gras show, one family will create history in two areas.

Firstly, being the first time a father, daughter and son will compete against one another, and secondly having the youngest person to ever compete in a national Calypso final.

The historic occasion involves, veteran calypsonian Gosnel “GC” Cupid, his daughter Shaunelle McKenzie, and his son 14-year-old Omani Cupid.

The family will come up against reigning calypso monarch Maxwell ‘Tajoe’ Francis, Lornette ‘Fya Empress’ Nedd, Shena Collis, Phylicia ‘Nubian Empress’ Alexander, Robert ‘Patches’ King, Bernard ‘Reality’ White, Carlos ‘Rejector’ Providence, Glenroy ‘Sulle’ Caesar and Cleo ‘Cleopatra’ Hendrickson. The reserve is Denis Bowman, a position young Omani was in last year.

“I feel good …. I want to give them a challenge,” Omani told SEARCHLIGHT on Monday.

He said he is proud to be in the finals for the first time as he only managed to make the reserves last year.

Omani will also be competing in the finals of the Junior Calypso competition today as a form three student of the Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia (EHSM), a competition he said he has been in three times before.

“I am going to try my best to win the both of them. I feel good about being part of that history,” Omani stressed.

Shaunelle said on Monday that she was quite happy to have made the finals once again.

“As for me going up against my dad and brother, it’s a little different for me, as we are working together to ensure that we each put on top notch performances,” the artiste revealed.

“I love them both and want to see all three of us at the top,” said the veteran songbird who has eight junior crowns and three senior wins under her belt (one national and two queen of calypso crowns).

She said what is interesting also is that she wrote her brother’s song. Her song was written by Chrystal Cummins-Beckles of Barbados while her father wrote his song.

“I am just going there to do my best … then it’s up to the judges,” Shaunelle said.

Commenting, the head of the family said he has always been about history, and making history since his days playing Football and Cricket for St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the Windward Islands.

“There is no greater time than now to do it (make history) in Calypso, and it is also history in the Calypso world because I don’t think there has been any country which has ever saw a father, son and daughter compete against one another,” Gosnel said.

The veteran Calypsonian said he is not sure who will win the competition, but the family is going to give the other competitors and one another a run for the money.

“… And whoever wins, if one of us wins, we all win. It is a great feeling. Although I’m in the competition Sunday and any one of them (daughter or son) come out on top, I will enjoy the moment as if I am the winner as well,” Gosnel commented.