Vincy artistes up for soca awards

by J. Soso-Vincent

Boasting to be “…the most prestigious award show in the soca recording industry”, the 6th Annual International Soca Awards (iSA’s) will certainly be highly anticipated by some of the top Vincentian soca artistes. Hosted by the Soca Awards Organisation Inc., the awards ceremony is set to take place in St. Kitts, at the Marriott Event Centre, on 18th October, 2008.{{more}}

Zoelah ‘Zoelah’ Boyd, Shertz ‘Problem Child’ James, Kevin Lyttle, James ‘Jamesy P’ Morgan and Producer Parry Jack are all up for nominations.

Zoelah is carrying the flag as leader of the Vincy invasion, with 6 nominations. Namely, Best New Female Soca Artiste, Female Soca Vocalist of the Year, Female Soca Performer of the Year, Overall Female Soca Artiste of the Year, Favourite Groove Soca (female) and Favourite Up-tempo Soca (female).

In speaking to SEARCHLIGHT, Zoelah recalled how elated she was when her manager informed her that she had been nominated. “It feels like the best thing that’s ever happened to me!” she beamed. She thanked God for blessing her with talent, and further thanked Alex ‘Kubiyashi’ Barnwell for producing ‘Fly Away’ and ‘Down Low’. Zoelah was also in full of praise of the Vincentian public for supporting her thus far. “I’m happy to be out there representing SVG!” Zoelah admitted that despite not seeing many Vincy flags in the crowd when performing in international arenas, she always makes sure that she ‘bigs up’ SVG first and foremost.

Problem Child is holding his own with nominations in 4 categories – Soca Song of the Year, Favourite Groove Soca (male), Best New Male Soca Artiste and Best Groove Soca Collaboration. Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT, he related how significant these awards are because he’s being nominated alongside some of the biggest names in the industry. “It’s definitely an honour!” he enthused. Problem Child encourages the public to vote not just for him, but for all the Vincentian artistes being nominated. “The further we get, the further the country gets.”

Jamesy P, Kevin Lyttle and Parry Jack all have one nomination a piece in the categories of Best Groove Soca Collaboration, Male Soca Vocalist of the Year and Soca Producer of the Year, respectively. Jamesy P’s nomination not only places him against other regional artistes, but also against his fellow countryman, Problem Child. In speaking to SEARCHLIGHT, Kevin Lyttle relayed how surprised he had been to learn of his nomination. “I didn’t know that the song had done so well!” he mused. Lyttle encourages the public to vote for him because he’s trying to bring Vincy soca to a new level. “I’m trying to make a difference,” he explained.

With 34 categories, the show will present awards for soca recordings released between June 1st, 2007, and May 31st, 2008. Interested persons can view the awards show on www.socatvonline.com, which will air at 2pm Eastern Time (5pm Pacific Time). The winners will be decided by public voting on www.socaawards.com; therefore, Vincentians everywhere are being urged to vote for our local soca artistes.