Regional artistes who made it to the final round of the 2010 International Soca Monarch Competition are sounding the alarm: "We're coming hard and we're coming to win."
Twenty-six competitors will vie for the prestigious crown when the competition's 18th edition unfolds at the Queen's Park Oval on February 12, Fantastic Friday. Of that number, five Caribbean artistes, all reigning Soca Monarch champs in their respective islands, are automatic entrants into the finals. Declaring that they're ready to represent their national colours, they're putting in the work necessary to give local competitors a run for their money. Despite their confidence, they will have to compete with the ever-focused female powerhouse that is Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez–the reigning Groovy and Power Soca queen. The T&T Guardian recently caught up with three of the Caribbean finalists, who believe that they're up for the challenge.
It's a battle
Tian Winter, the 2009 Antiguan Groovy and Power Soca champ is competing in the Power category and says he's going after the crown. Delivering the track Soca Rebels, penned by Kernal Roberts, the 24-year-old says he feels good to be in the finals, as it's his very first time competing in T&T. "I look at it as an opportunity to step up my game and take it to the next level. I'm definitely in it to win it. I am going for that crown." With a soca collaboration with (the HD Family's) Patrice Roberts titled Bump N Grind also on his hands, Winter is unfazed by the stiff competition he will face on that fateful night. "I think I have a good chance at the crown. I'm letting everybody know to come out because it's going to be war. It's real battle; I'm going for gold."
Greatest war
Winter's Grenadian counterpart, Mr Killa, 25, voiced similar sentiments. Born Hollice Mapp, this artiste is no stranger to the stage–or success, for that matter. Not only is he Grenada's reigning Power Soca monarch and Road March champion, he's also the 2004 power Soca Monarch winner. And in 2006, he gained even more bragging rights after placing first in both the Groovy and Power soca categories. Mr Killa, who placed fifth in the 2005 instalment of the International Soca Monarch, with the tune, Girl Wine If You Wining, will compete in the Power Soca category this year, with his song, Swing It Away. Admitting that he's still putting the finishing touches on his performance, he promises that everything will be ready, come Fantastic Friday. "It's all about going for the number one position. I'm going for that top spot." Who does he think are his biggest competitors? "Talpree, Jason and Blaze and, of course, Fay Ann. But on the night I don't focus on competition. My mother always tells me: 'You just have to go at it as if it's the greatest war ever.'"
I'm ready
Going by the sobriquet Daddy Chess, Dominican Chester Letang has a few tricks up his sleeve. Noting that he feels "very excited and proud" to be chosen for the finals, he says, "It's a significant event, the biggest show in the Caribbean and, of course, a grand opportunity to represent myself and my country." The artiste copped Dominica's Soca Monarch crown two years in a row and has also tasted success on the local stage, having reached the semi-finals of last year's competition.
