The announcement will come almost immediately following the two rounds of eliminations that started here on Saturday night at De House Nitery in Soho.
Though 24 contenders were scheduled to perform Saturday night, only 20 did in fact make a full appearance. These included, Junti Bubo, Draper, Franky Sly, Rudder, Ace, Takeover, Lord Kut, I-Soursop, Aba Lively, Singing Jackie, Pa-u-la, Forest, Singing Pearline, Lady Diva, Spatter, Newsflash, Persuader, Lala, Godfrey and Pungwa.
Among the potential candidates to go through to the Semis, based on their performance Saturday, are Takeover, Jackie, Lady Diva, Godfrey, Pungwa, I-Soursop, and possibly Lord Kut and Forest. However, this depends on the quality of performances during the second line up of calypsonians. In any case, there is room for sixteen.
Former calypso King De Ayatollah was automatically eliminated after appearing on stage, with the band playing his musical introduction, and he with the mic in hand, but eventually abandoning his effort to even strike a note.
Just before entering the stage De Ayatollah had some difficulty finding the stairs, though they were just ahead of him in plain sight. But by the time he took the mic from MC Calypso Reggie, it was obvious to many in the audience that he was never in a position to perform.
He was accused of being under the influence and not with his fullest capacity to deliver the usual outstanding performances that have landed him the crown at least on three occasions. At the end, Ayatollah defended himself, (off stage); telling fans in the crowd that he was not intoxicated but decided not to sing. The MC though did try to get officials to allow him to delay his performance or have it re-scheduled to Sunday night when the final round is held at 17 Degrees, but this was quickly rebuffed.
Also expected to make appearances, but did not, were Big Lice and Anastasia, who are now scheduled to be included in the lot to face the judges Sunday night.
An official from the Calypso Sub Committee has advised that they will announce the top 16 Semi-Finalists after Sunday night’s show but that will be a preliminary list. Thereafter the statisticians will undertake a more careful review to ensure that the results they announced were accurate.
Just like on Saturday, the musical accompaniment will be provided by the Grand Masters and Legend bands. The show on Sunday starts at 4:00pm, to better accommodate the larger number of calypsonians expected for the second round.
Just over 300 fans were present at De House for the first round.