"GUTTED!!! Not the result we expected or wanted but this has been an extraordinary and fun journey for us. Our aim was always to portray Soca music to the WORLD and I think we succeeded to an extent."
This was the message from former Groovy Soca Monarch Olatunji "Ola" Yearwood on his social media pages following his elimination from the UK X Factor competition yesterday.
Yearwood was voted out of the competition despite having a spirited performance of Jiggle It, which he wrote days before the final, on Saturday.
Commenting afterwards, Yearwood said the performance was done with a "heavy heart knowing the flooding back home and devastation where people lost EVERYTHING."
Following his elimination Yearwood's mentor Ayda Field said she was "completely devastated" by the decision.
"I am completely devastated. I just don't get it, he smashed it last night. He brought the house down. I'm gutted. And not only that, he's just an incredible human being. I'm at a loss for words," Field said told the show’s presenter Dermot O’Leary after he made the announcement.
Yearwood thanked the UK X Factor judges, including Simon Cowell, for "accepting soca music" and giving him the opportunity to showcase it internationally.
"To every fan and friend NEW and OLD I salute you and say THANK YOU!!!" Yearwood posted on social media afterwards.
Yearwood's fellow soca artistes, including Destra Garcia, Erphaan Alves and Ricardo Drue, applauded him for what he did for soca music.
"It was awesome every step of the way bro. You carried the joy and love of the artform in places and corners it wasn't before. We all pushing to break them walls down and you my friend have made our country and the entire soca movement very proud. This experience has encouraged a generation to dream bigger than it has before...and it's only the beginning. Salute my brother," former Groovy Soca Monarch Kees Dieffenthaller also posted.
Soca legend Austin “Superblue” Lyons told Yearwood he was proud of him.
This morning Yearwood thanked everyone for the "positive energy."