Naomi Sinnette is NWAC Calypso Queen

At 20, Naomi Sinnette is Trinidad and Tobago’s new Calypso Queen. She won the title after performing Them Advisers at the National Women’s Action Committee (NWAC) National Calypso Queen Competition at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s on January 21.

There were 18 finalists in Sunday’s show, with Curlissa Charles-Mapp placing second and Kerine “Tiny” Williams-Figaro, third.

Them Advisers spoke of domestic violence and the need for more action to protect both male and female victims.

This is Sinnette's second time entering the competition: last year she placed sixth.

Sinnette said she felt excited and humbled by the win. In a phone interview with Newsday on January 22, she thanked many people, including the song’s composer and fellow calypsonian Maria Bhola and her vocal coach Joseph Williams.

She also thanked her family for their support. It is the creative lineage in her family that led her to calypso in the first place. If the name sounds familiar, particularly in that arena, that's because she is the niece of calypsonian Alana Sinnette-Khan, who competed against her as Lady Watchman.

Her father and mother, Kirt and Karen Sinnette, encouraged her in her calypso dreams.

“They all had an input in me being able to attain the crown,” she said.

She started singing at nine and to encourage her talent, her father hosted competitions between her and her brother.

Sinnette is a four-time Junior Calypso Monarch finalist and the winner of the 2022 Emancipation Calypso Monarch and the Icons Calypso competition, which took place last year.

She hopes this win propels her to the Big Yard for Dimanche Gras on February 11. Finalists for Dimanche Gras are chosen from the tents, judged on various nights in the build-up to the competition. Qualifiers compete in a semi-final on February 3 at Skinner Park, San Fernando.

To be part of Dimanche Gras, she will be judged at the Divas Calypso Cabaret International tent on January 25 at the Little Carib Theatre, White and Robert Streets, Woodbrook, at 8 pm.

Sinnette does not only hope to conquer the calypso stage but international ones as well. She hopes to sing reggae, R&B, jazz and other genres on stages across the world one day.

She also hopes to pursue higher education in music at UWI, St Augustine, and recently sat Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams (CAPE). She attended Bishop’s Centenary College, Roberts Street, Woodbrook, and New Butler Associate College, Frederick Street, Port of Spain.

Results of NWAC competition:

1: Naomi Sinnette – Them Advisers

2: Curlissa Charles-Mapp – Competition

3: Kerine "Tiny" Williams-Figaro – Through these Eyes

4: Alana Sinnette-Khan (Lady Watchman) – Shopping in Miami

5: Louisa Smith – Tight Rope

6: Wendy Garrick – Keep Yuh Head Up