On February 3, Guyanese and more particularly Linden party fans are going to witness the first instalment of this year’s Carib Soca Monarch competition and it’s bound to have a few surprises.
The quarter-final is set for the mining town-or is it ex-mining town now party venue? Whichever, it will see 19 contestants “warring” to get into the semi-final billed for the Esplanade Ground, New Amsterdam, Berbice on February 10. By then, four contestants would have been eliminated and another four will go on that night.
And on February 18, at the National Park the remaining 11 contestants along with the defending 2006 Monarch Adrian Dutchin will vie for the $600,000 first prize. The second and third place ‘seekers of the crown’ would be awarded with gifts of $300,000 and $150,000 respectively.
At this fourth annual contest promoted by ‘the gold and blue’ Carib is also offering a prize for the best newcomer. Demerara Distillers Ltd, according to its Marketing Assistant Alicia Katideen, is providing in excess of $600,000 to aid in the successful run off of this year’s competition.
Okay, the nitty gritty is this: Ansa McAl recently announced the quarter finalists heading to Linden. The company said a panel of three judges selected Sharmaine Gift with her song “Garden City”, Lil Man with “One For The Road”, Shelly G with “Love Can Set Us Free”, Malo with “Give Me It”, DMD with “Oh Oh Oh Oh”, Lucky B with “Rred”, Passion with “Survivor”, Bones Roots with “Hands Up”, Vanilla with “Queen of the Band”, Mighty Duke with “Afraid”, Nicole Osbourne with “Soca Fever”, Mark Harris with “Super Markey”, Pecky Dred with “Put Them Rags Together”, Sweetie with “Don’t Lie Down So”, Stephen Dunbar with “Live In Love”, Ronella with “It’s Party Time”, G-Money with “Flashlight” and X Factor with “Don’t Get In Trouble”. Dutchin is coming strong with “Big Damn Celebration”.
For the fans who may want to know where last year’s almost-monarch Michelle ‘Big Red’ King is in all this, Carib Soca Monarch Coordinator Nigel Worrell revealed that the soca stalwart did not enter this year but that she is being pursued to put in a guest appearance.
That said, here is a first look at five of the wannabes:
X Factor
X Factor is part of the popular dance group known for its fly passa passa moves. The group’s two leaders Gary Morgan, 34, and James Yhap, 31, are hoping to have newcomers’ luck with their anti-crime track “Don’t Get In Trouble”, in which they sing:
“Nah guh thief for live with grief
We nah guh rape fe go a jail
Illegal killing don’t mix with no AK
Mashramani happiness to hell with
Them crime stress”
Gary said they put together the song for the competition as, “it’s a long time we wanted to get into music because X Factor is not only a dancers’ group, but it also has actors and everybody else.
