Finalists for Virtual Soca, Ragga Soca and Calpyso Monarch Competitions Named
The finalists for the first ever virtual Soca, Ragga Soca and Calypso monarch competitions in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) have been announced.
Competing in the Soca category are Chowminister – ‘Sugar Daddy’, Dynamite – ‘Corona’, Fruity – ‘Doh Wuk So’, King Jace – ‘Pressure On It’, Royall – ‘Cause Ah Scene’, Sick-o – ‘Jam-No Cut’, Tan Dre – Virus and TwiXx – ‘Head Sick Head Bad’. G. E. O. with the song ‘No Fear’ is the reserve in this group.
The Ragga Soca category will hear from Chewalee – ‘Plenty’, Cleoptra – ‘Dutty Gyal’, D’Fusion – ‘Lockdown’, Homie – ‘Full Hundred’, Javid ft Magikal – ‘Road Stamp’, Kripted – ‘Stress Free’, Michelle Soca – ‘Pozition’ and Slama London – ‘Wurtless Worker’. Optimus with the song ‘Contact’ is the Ragga Soca reserve.
The chosen calypsonians are Chico B – ‘In Quarantine’, Chewalee – ‘Mas Debating’, DA Vincy – ‘Who am I to Grudge’, Ipa – ‘Is We’, Ron B – ‘Sweet Sweet Soca Jam’, Shena – ‘Quashegunny’ and Sulle – ‘Winning Habit’. Kojah is reserve with ‘Dancing in the Dark’.
The competition will be held at the Envy Nightclub in Arnos Vale on Saturday July 4 and Sunday July 5 this year.
The virtual competitions have come about through a partnership between STV Online, Ignite Consulting, Envy Nightclub and 4th Dimension Productions.
Founder and Marketing/Public Relations Consultant at Ignite Candace Sealey said COVID-19 has created unexpected situations in the country that has even saw the cancellation of our premier national festival, Vincy Mas.
Sealey said the singing competitions are the most anticipated events during Vincy Mas so Steve Wallace, Creative Director of STV Online saw the opportunity to do something unique as it regards these competitions.
She said Wallace approached her and Lester “Mack” Iroha of Envy Nightclub and 4th Dimension Productions to make the competitions possible.
July 4 and 5 are the dates the competitions would have been held if COVID-19 had not hit.
The initiative is being sponsored by Hairoun Beer and Digicel, and there is EC$20,000 in cash and prizes to be won.
Entrants’ music will be uploaded to Digicel’s D’music.
The finals point system speaks to 10 points for social media response, 15 points for lyrics, 15 for originality, 20 for melody, 20 for musical arrangement, and 20 for rendition. Points will also come from a SMS/text campaign and D’Music app listenership.
The opportunity will be given to Zoom viewers to be seen during the competition while the reaction of the audience will be used to judge the social media response.
Interested persons can view the competition through a virtual VIP experience as there can be no crowds. Persons interested in viewing the competition online can pay US$20 for a Zoom VIP experience.