Who will be the 17 to face-off against reigning monarch Classic?
That will be decided over a period of a week as the first of the six tents will meet the judges tomorrow as the journey to the Courtesy Garage Pic-O-De-Crop Finals pick up steam.
In addition to the 17, the two with the next highest scores will be chosen as reserves according to the PODC rules.
The ultimate kaiso battle comes off at Kensington Oval on Friday, July 29 where up for grabs is $100 000 or a fully-loaded Nissan Leaf thanks to Courtesy Garage.
The other cash prizes on finals night go to second place with $40 000, third place receives $20 000 and fourth, $15 000. Fifth to tenth place gets $5 000 each and the 11th to 18th will receive $3 000 each.
The points system for the preliminary stage where each kaisonian will sing one song covers melody and lyrics a maximum of 35 points each with rendition and arrangement a maximum of 15 points each. The judges are Leslie Lett (chief judge), Ryan Boyce, Kemmerick Harrison, Winston Farrell, David Walcott, Petra Welch, Alvin Mayers, Darren Massiah and Omar Haynes.
The first tent to face the judges will be Super Gladiators at the Barbados Museum, The Garrison, St Michael. They will be followed by Payce Digital/COB Credit Union All Stars on Sunday, July 10.
Next up is C.O. Williams House of Soca who will face the judges on Wednesday, July 13; while the following night, Thursday, July 14, will be Stray Cats’ turn. First Citizens/Digicel De Big Show will be judged on Friday, July 15 at Sea Rocks Dome.
On Sunday, July 17, Carter’s Shining Stars will be the last tent to be judged. At that time, the names of the 17 finalists will be announced after the judges deliberate.
When the Pic-O-De-Crop registration closed on Monday, June 6, there were 90-plus calypsonians who had registered. (NS)
