Avoiding last year’s contest due to personal circumstances, Menell has returned to reign with her emotional ballad, “My Mistakes”. The song is an ode to her life’s experiences - emotional and physical abuse, and the struggles of womanhood and motherhood.

“Raising up in a single home and having to go through physical and verbal abuse, sexual abuse, it was very difficult. And these are things I wouldn't talk about with anybody because I know if I had to say it, I would get licked,” she explained.

In 2022, the singer suffered an attack after her performance at the Calypso Semi-Finals, causing her to take a break from the national stage to recover.

Back on stage, the Calypsonian explained that she has found the strength to tell her story on her own terms.

“Today has given me the strength, knowing that the people are there with me. And the song, My Mistakes, were ideas that myself and Carlton Robert put together, and we came up with that song.”

Last winning the Calypso crown in 2016, Menell has been a staple of the musical scene in Saint Lucia with her compelling voice.

“I am so happy that I made it here this evening. I really thought I couldn't, but the support that I got from my family and even the crowd themselves, they gave me that boost. So I just had to just start and finish it up. Although at the end I broke down a little because this song meant a lot to me.”

In 2007 Menell collaborated with experienced calypso writer Nahum "Happy" Jn Baptiste, who penned the calypso tribute to the then Prime Minister Sir John Compton who fell sick before the carnival season.

Her hit "Holding On" was a crowd favourite and it ensured that Menell secured her first title becoming the third female to wear the calypso crown.