Machel & Rikki Jai to return to Trinidad’s Calypso Monarch

Machel Montano & Rikki Jai

Reigning International Power (Soca) Monarch Machel Montano and defending National Chutney Monarch Rikki Jai will compete in next year’s National Calypso Monarch Competition.

They made the joint announcement of their return to competition which served as the foundation for their careers at Sunday’s staging of Saute Trinbago, produced by Cloud Nine Promotions at the NCC Carpark at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.

Montano hinted that his selection for the competition was likely to be The Youngest Veteran, while Jai’s will per Machel Montano & Rikki Jai form Love, Family, Life. Contacted for comment on this development, reigning Calypso Monarch Karene Asche welcomed the news.“By all means. The competition is open to everyone and I don’t see why not. It would be interesting,” she said, chuckling.

Brother Resistance (Lutalo Masimba) president of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonian Organisation (TUCO), also hailed the return of Jai and Montano to the competition, describing it as “very good.”

“Machel and Rikki Jai are very much welcome. We look forward to the vibration they will bring. The Calypso Monarch competition is open to all artistes from T&T. It will bring a sense of excitement to the competition. That’s where they started. Machel was a former Junior Calypso Monarch. I could understand the calling,” he said.

Young calypsonian Chucky (Roderick Gordon) was delighted by the news. Chucky, who described himself as a young artiste in the calypso genre straddling the generation gap, said the presence of Machel and Jai would draw the attention of a younger audience to the competition. 

Jai and Montano were winners of the $2 million first prizes awarded to the Soca Monarch and Chutney Soca Monarch competitions this year.