The vacation is over, says five-time Soca Monarch winner Austin Lyons a.k.a. SuperBlue. In an interview yesterday, the soca legend described his absence from the competitive arena for over a decade as a vacation. The holiday, he said, ended last year when he was approached to perform at the Soca Monarch competition as part of a "soca legends" segment of the show.
"Last year I came to perform as a guest artiste and I realised it was time to come back to the music. "I am just here to demonstrate with the soca," said Lyons. "I have to go on tour and represent soca. Carnival 2013 needs to be the year we make history in this country."
SuperBlue said he felt the need to re-enter the arena to show there was space for everyone in the industry. "I want the bad boys to put down their guns and make music," he said. He said his first soca release for 2013, Fantastic Friday, was a salute to both Ras Shorty I–originator of soca music–and Soca Monarch promoter William Munro for their contributions to the soca music industry.
The song is not the only one Lyons is preparing to release for this year's Carnival season. Before the interview SuperBlue was working on a groovy song called Spanking, and said there were others in the works. "We have something special in this country. Carnival in Trinidad is the biggest and the best. Where else can you gather so many people to be happy together? In the Middle East? No."
Lyons said he felt blessed. "I am singing. My daughters are singing. Maybe just now my granddaughter will be singing," he said. His daughters are soca singers Terri Lyons and former Soca Monarch Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez, who is married to fellow artiste Bunji Garlin (Ian Alvarez). They are the parents of a three-year-old daughter.
"That is a blessing. I could never lose. I have already won," Lyons said. SuperBlue will be entering both the Groovy and Power Soca Monarch competitions for February 8.
