Position number five proved lucky for Kizzy Ruiz at Sunday night's National Calypso Queen competition 2010, presented by the National Women's Action Committee. The lengthy show, which also featured addresses and award presentations, showcased the talents of 18 female calypsonians displaying some good vocal talent and lyrical skill. Accompanying the performers, Earl Knight and Services Brass seemed as if they would have benefited from more rehearsals. Dr Phaedra Pierre introduced the first singer, Joanne Foster, who started off strong with Changes. She was followed by Karene Asche, with the Audacity of Hope. She sang with a strong, emotional delivery and clear vocals. Lady Adana's song, We Doh Understand, suffered from a poor intro from the band, but she rallied to deliver a message of universal love, with a passionate plea for mankind to come together, getting the audience on her side.
Joy C was next, with The Master Card, advising her listeners to lean on faith in the face of disaster. Kizzy Ruiz delivered her Yele Haiti with powerful vocals and a bass and djimbe-driven, percussive sound. She appealed for help for the stricken island. Giselle Fraser-Washington followed with Real Values and Victoria Cooper was next, singing Pain. Nicole Greaves then asked the poignant question, Where the Lions Are?, observing that many black men were absent from the lives of their children. She had the audience soundly behind her rousing call for men to step up to their responsibility. Sister Ava's Song For Peace was a big production number with flags, religious props, percussion, drums and multi-cultural dancers.
She was followed by Spicey, with a bawdy and well received rendering of Ah Want to Know, in which she advised sexual responsibility. Sister Alli was first to sing after the break, with No More Moses. She sang of a crisis of leadership in the modern era. Marva Mc Kenzie sang De Hunt for National Pride, a cheeky take on the tale of the $2 million flag at the National Stadium. Heather Mac Intosh delivered Luta's Advice, listing the country's woes but promising "a new Heather" with a new, carefree attitude – boogying onstage to prove her point. Cindy Alleyne was next with The Dream, her strong young voice telling the crowd that Toussaint L'Ouverture's revolutionary vision should be carried on.
Lioness sang of changing fortunes and the economic downturn in Recession Blues before Sister Virtue challenged parents with Too Sexy Too Soon, appealing to them to dress their daughters more modestly. In Song of Hope, Terri Lyons evangelised with her lovely, throaty vocals, urging a return to prayer. Karen Eccles, scheduled to sing at number 18, was ill and did not compete. Nefta Kojo's Back to de Roots was the final number, with its rhythmic, black power message offering a look at black history, from the foundations of civilisation, through enslavement and cultural liberation.
