Artistes go after big $$ in Chutney Soca Monarch

The preliminary round of the NLCB Chutney Soca Monarch kicked off on January 30, at Samar Entertainment Centre, Debe. The event saw over 120 artistes performing in front of a depleted audience, when compared to previous years of the competition. Under inclement weather conditions some supporters still came out to support the show, but were subjected to a series of paltry performances, which may have been due to the increase of newcomers to the event.

The top guns, however, did not fail to deliver, as there were explosive performances from Lalchan Babwah (Hunter), Samraj Jaimungal (Rikki Jai), Bajan soca artiste Alison Hinds, Melobugz lead female vocalist Artie Butkoon, and Drupatee Ragoonai Persad, who returned after a 12-year break from the competition. It was a telling performance by Sean Caruth, who got the crowd’s approval as he rendered his domestic issues in song. 

“Leave de cat,” he sang of his wife and the cat. The crowd reacted to his humorous lines, singing along, “One thing I sure about is that the cat will always be mine.”  Kenneth Supersad got a arousing response from the crowd following his rendition of Who is the maco, adding “everybody knows the maco from San Fernando.” The song highlighted the recent issues arising out of the Security Intelligent Agency. He even had a man dressed as a private investigator using a pair of binoculars to spy on the crowd, much to the audience’s amusement.

While many of the regular names advanced to the next round, there were some lackluster performances by former Chutney Monarch King, Kenneth Salick, Sina Wayne Maraj (SW Storm) and last year’s third place winner Moses Charles, as their performances did not meet the judges or the crowd’s approval. Even new soca sensation Dominic Elias (Buhwamoder) with his hit song, Slap Chop, failed to live up to the crowds expectation. Music was provided by Melobugz Orchestra, while dancers from the Premala Dance Academy displayed wonderful dance pieces. Patrons were treated to a live performance by the band, Andaz International, which rendered both soca and chutney hits. 

George Singh, CEO of Southex Promotions, the company responsible for the Chutney Soca Monarch competition, said the semi-final and the final were expected to be explosive events. He said there was an increase in the number of people entering the competition due the attractive prize money being offered. He added that a number of soca artistes also joined the competition line-up, including Ghetto Flex, Derrick Seales, and Hinds.