(Trinidad Express) Fay-Ann Lyons Alvarez created history in the dawn of Sunday when she became the first female International Power Soca Monarch ever, soundly beating her husband, defending monarch Bunji Garlin into second place.
Fay-Ann also won the Groovy Soca Monarch competition as well as the People’s Choice Award, having garnered all of the 15,000 votes cast. Performing “Heavy T Bumper” in the Groovy category and “Meet SuperBlue” in the Power category, Fay-Ann had the crowd of over 30,000 people singing, cheering and waving throughout both presentations.
As soon as the MC announced that Fay-Ann was coming onstage for the Power Soca Monarch leg of the competition, the crowd began chanting her name. Accompanied by gladiators and belly dancers, Fay-Ann took to the stage wearing a black dress with blue highlights.
The crowd went wild as Fay-Ann sang “Meet SuperBlue”. Midway through the performance, Fay-Ann told the crowd that when her father, Austin Lyons, better known as “SuperBlue” was in his prime he only had to step on the stage for mayhem to ensue. She said she wanted that same treatment from the crowd and informed them that she was going to leave the stage, to return to them “getting on bad” for her.
And the crowd went wild when, instead of Fay-Ann, SuperBlue, the man himself, appeared doing his trademark dance.
“I’m getting a pain,” she said, telling the crowd that the baby was acting up. She then put the microphone to her stomach and the digitally created voice of a baby was heard chanting that she, the baby and her mommy were putting a lyrical beating on Bunji. The crowd went wild.
For about three minutes after Fay-Ann had left the stage, the crowd continued to chant her name; the MC could not quiet them. When the next performer, Ricky T from St Lucia, ended his presentation, the crowd began chanting “Fay-Ann” again. In the Groovy category, Fay-Ann sang “Heavy T Bumper” dressed in a white Bele gown. At one point, she invited the candidates of the Miss Big And Beautiful Pageant on stage but the clear highlight of this performance was Fay-Ann being joined onstage by the Calypso Queen of the World, Calypso Rose.
When Bunji came onstage to perform “Clear The Road”, he freestyled that he was only there to have fun and also to push Iwer George out of second place because his wife was the clear winner of both categories of the competition as well as the Road March. Bunji worked the crowd into a even greater frenzy when he chanted that his unborn child was a disrespectful baby and promising to discipline.
Iwer George, performing “Ready”, placed third in the Power Soca Monarch category.
