Kenroy ‘Mighty Believer’ Fraser kept on believing that one day he would walk away the Calypso Monarchy and it happened last Friday night when he bested ten other calypsonians at the competition held at the National Park Tarmac.
“Guyana Must be a Paradise”, penned by the singer, focused on national pride. Believer finished 3.5 points ahead of Roger ‘Young Bill Rogers’ Hinds who gained 343 points with “No Third Term”. Diana Chapman with “The Killing of Another Woman” attained 236.5 points to secure the third spot and fourth place went to Abigail Nelson who garnered 231 points with her song, “It’s About Time”.
‘It’s a great feeling, but I’m not surprised being crowned the king because I was always a frontrunner since 2010, coming second or third. Being the Monarch isn’t surprising because if you’re accustomed hitting at the door, hitting at the door, one day it got to break down. And exactly that’s what happened because I’ve been chipping away… for a long time… It feels great to be the champion,” a satisfied Believer said.
The singer/songwriter first competed at the Junior Calypso level in 2004 and won that title the following year. He subsequently finished in third place in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, he competed in the senior competition, but did not place, nor did he place in 2009. However, he sang himself into third place in 2010 and second place in 2012. He took a break in 2013 and returned in 2014 to secure the third spot, finishing third again in the year that followed. In 2017, he managed to gain second place. Not placing in last year’s competition, the singer said, propelled him to come harder this year.
The Berbician, who began singing as a boy in church, later fell in love with calypso, so much so that he plays the genre approximately 350 days in a year.
Mighty Believer began writing songs almost 18 years ago. He writes and arranges his own songs. He has also written songs for schools participating in competitions. With his long list of songs, he said, an album is long overdue, and plans are in place to have this done although he could not say when it would happen.
Since his win, Believer has taken part in a motorcade at Belladrum, Berbice on Thursday and performed at the flag-raising ceremony in Berbice among a few other Mashramani events. The Berbicians, he said, are thrilled with his win and have been in high spirits since.
“I want to give thanks to God first, then my wife and family, my supporters in Berbice, my sponsors, Ministry of Communities as well as the #3G Waste Management Program,” he said.
