Carnival usually brings with it some sort of controversy. It is usually seen in disagreement about the outcome of one of the shows or in relation to some occurrence during a boat race. This year the big controversy surrounded the outcome of the Senior Calypso Show. The Judges’ monarch was Queen Roxxy while the people’s monarch was Singing Vero.
Social media was replete with posts surrounding this controversy. The contrast between those who accepted the judges’ decision and those who thought otherwise was stark. Those who supported Singing Vero were emotive while those who supported Queen Roxxy appeared more reasoned. The Facebook engagements of Queen Roxxy and her brother Rudy Webster stood out for their reasoned consideration of the situation.
Queen Roxxy observed that, “Competition is NOT based on opinions. While everyone is entitled to have their favorites, competition is based on established judging criteria. Last night, the judges made their decision, and I am humbled to once again be entrusted with the title of National Calypso Monarch.” How many of the persons vociferously expressing their disagreement with the judges’ decision have given any consideration to the actual judging criteria?
Queen Roxxy’s brother, Rudy Webster, who is known for his witty engagements on Facebook, revealed that the controversy he anticipated if Queen Roxxy won had occurred. His logical examination of the situation is an example of the value of reason which is devoid of emotion and for that reason is set out below in its entirety.
Rudy noted that – “Before the show, before Roxy and Vero’s second songs came out. I told her and her manager straight up. If she wins the show again it will cause an uproar and this is where we are today.
Before either of them went on the stage last night, the majority of people wanted Vero to win. And it’s natural that people love to root for the underdog. I personally feel either of them could have won, but you could feel the energy from the crowd that no matter what Roxy did, the people were ready for a new winner and they rallied behind who they wanted to win. And again, had Vero won the show or any of the top 4 for that matter, I had no issue because they were all great and I didn’t see any 1 of them standing head and shoulders over the other 3.
What I saw however was Vero ran away with the crowd support. That is who the people wanted to win. And any other result than that was going to cause an uproar, especially if it was Roxy.
Unfortunately, the support and will of the crowd can only do so much and obviously the judges felt differently.
If you had walked both Calypsonians on the stage before they performed and asked the crowd who should walk away with the crown, Vero would have gone home with it. Don’t confuse disappointment with robbery.”
Rudy recognised that as Roxy’s brother it would be hard to see his opinion as unbiased and acknowledged that that was okay as well. I believe it is, however, fair to say that, despite the familial relationship, looked at objectively, one can only conclude that Rudy’s analysis is correct. Singing Vero was the crowd favourite before either of them set foot on the stage. Where the margin of choice between contestants is not apparent, (and Rudy acknowledges the margin was not apparent to him) there would be disappointment if the crowd favourite was not identified as the winner.
Regrettably, the margin is also cause for speculation as the scores were not announced. The persons responsible for the decision not to immediately announce the scores of the top four contenders or to explain why they were not being announced fed the controversy and in doing so did Queen Roxxy a disservice. It left room for Singing Vero’s fans not only to be disappointed with the judges’ decision but to be suspicious of the motivation of the judges or the tabulators. This should have been anticipated and addressed.
Queen Roxxy’s reign should not be tainted by the failings of the organisers of the Senior Calypso Show.
