Three-time Soca Monarch Aaron “Voice” St Louis yesterday announced that he is dropping out of all soca competitions to focus on pushing his music on the international market.
In an Instagram post the soca star said after winning the International Soca Monarch title three consecutive times, his goals have changed.
“I love competing and bringing the best out of myself, my team and my fellow competitors but we have new goals now and competing is not one of them. I can’t deny that a huge part of me wants to take part in both the Soca and Calypso Monarch competitions again, but I don’t make decisions in a silo,” Voice wrote.
“I always involve my team and my family in all major decisions and we’re in agreement that it’s time to pursue different challenges which will hopefully open more doors for our younger soca artistes. My biggest goal now is to do my part to have Soca become a globally recognised genre.”
His decision to commit to his efforts to boost soca on the international stage comes less than twenty hours after Machel Montano made a similar statement in an early morning interview on Slam FM.
Voice thanked his fans for their undying support and the ISM competition for the opportunities it afforded him.
“I believe I did my small part and I’m proud to be a part of the history. I think that the competition is in great hands and I know it will continue to grow! Best of luck to the new board and all participants,” he ended.
This decision means that the thousands of Voice fans who were looking forward to being a soca choir at the ISM will have to turn their attention to the other competitors who are set to participate in the competition this year chaired for the first time by Faye Ann Lyons.