The "Kaiso 365" Calypso Monarch Competition Finals comes to an exciting climax this Saturday, July 18^th at 7pm in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, CNE Grounds. The nine finalists - eight plus last year's winner - will perform two newly-composed calypsos before a panel of judges. Each song will be awarded points out of a maximum of 100 points divided into five (5) categories as follows:

Lyrics -            35

Melody -         20

Vocal Rendition - 25

Presentation -  10

Originality -    10

Cash prizes and gifts are awarded to the four (4) singers with the highest score out of a total of 200 points.

In addition, there will be the following special awards categories: Arrangement, Local Content, Humor, Background Vocals, and New Artiste.

The nine finalists - in order of appearance - are:

1. Structure

2. Calypso Crooner

3. Susan G.

4. Spice

5. Beginner

6. Redman

7. Macomere Fifi (2008 Monarch)

8. King Cosmos

9. Naki

The Calypso Monarch Competition attracts singers from across the GTA and beyond and has been held annually in Toronto for the past 27 years. The 2008 first prize winner was Macomere Fifi singing "Barack Obama" and "Take Back We Country". Fifi went on to win the 2008 Miami Calypso Monarch competition last October.