The Young Kings Calypso Monarch Semifinals took place last night at the John Cupid Carnival Village, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain—and the future of calypso was unmistakably on display. The 2026 semifinal round featured a vibrant lineup of talented young singers, each delivering intriguing, thought‑provoking songs in their quest for a spot in the finals.
The full broadcast ran nearly four hours, but we’ve curated individual performances for easy viewing—courtesy of WACK Visual Radio 90.1FM. Watch them all or dive into the ones that catch your ear. There were a few surprises, with some songs being heard for the first time. Note Sherwin "Becomer" Babb and his delivery of his calypso, titled "Voicemail to Mother Kamla."
So sit back, tune in, and enjoy a showcase of calypso excellence from the next generation brought to you by the National Action Cultural Committee (NACC): There are 30 singers performing songs that will have you saying, "Kaiso, Kaiso." Yes, Kaiso!
The names with the wine glasses represent the contestants advancing to the finals.
Congratulations to all who made it through. And to those who didn’t advance this time, we salute you—you are the future of the artform. Keep writing, keep singing, and keep carrying Calypso forward.
Here’s a list of the semifinalists:
- Aaron Duncan—Birthplace 🍷
- Oscar “Oscar B” Benjamin—AI Versus Man 🍷
- Marq Pierre—How Yuh Feeling 🍷
- Darwren “Pharaoh” Greenidge—Be Sharpe 🍷
- Ronald Brathwaite—Sweet Like Honey
- Sherwin “Becomer” Babb—Voicemail to Mother Kamla 🍷
- Akeem “Preedy” Chance—Jamming 🍷
- Rawle "Ratel" Peters—One Hand Do Clap
- Kyle “KC” Cowie—Wah We Fighting For
- Caston Cupid—Mr Robert Ball 🍷
- Dave Maikoo (PAE3OT)—Mother Music 🍷
- O'Neal Lighboutne aka Bro. Lighbourne—Art of Peace
- Sheldon “Sheldon Nugget” Bullen—A Call for Peace
- Kadeem Graham—A Better Way 🍷
- Aaron Sinnette—Beneath the Ashes
- Khalen Alexander (Khalen)—Riddim Nation
- Junior "Mr. Famous” Noel—Africa Rising 🍷
- Oluseyi “Seyi” Moraldo-Bowen (Seyi)—We Love Soca
- Andre Nelson—Yuh Cyah Stop D Music 🍷
- Nicholas “Nikko Ash” Ashby—Special Assignment 🍷
- Vivial Lockhart aka Young Poser—One For Errol
- Robert “Master G” Deane—Doh Put Mih Dey 🍷
- Rivaldo London—Water Thicker 🍷
- Sean Singh (IFA)—Puppet Master
- Sekon Alves—Topic
- Nyol Manswell—My Prayer for Peace 🍷
- Alex “Tobago Chalkie” Gift (Tobago Chalkie)—I’m Busy
- Devon Harris—Duck De Wuk
- Anthony Julien—Cost of Living
- Niklas “St Nick” Shashie Gosine—Tribute to Calypsonians 🍷
Production Notes/Music Credits:
Young King Calypso Monarch: Semi-Finals 2026
Origin: Trinidad, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.
Genre: Calypso 🎶
Empowering Caribbean Creatives
We present the music here for your listening pleasure and promotional purposes only, adhering to the "Fair Use" Musical Content Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976. Kaiso Dial/Calypso Music Blog © 1990 by Santiwah is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
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