It has happened again; another regional soca artiste has run away wid the crown as should be expected in an international competition.
Though we may have a "home advantage" with thousands of supporters, the judges are only influenced by the performance on the night.
This time Grenada's Killa won hands down even before the judges' scores came in the latest edition of the Power Soca of the International Soca Monarch 2019.
Office bets had a long time predicted that Killa would run away wid the crown and million-dollar cheque.
Years ago, Bajan soca artist Biggie Irie rolled over the competition with Nah Going Home, returning to Barbados with the big cheque.
The International Soca Monarch was a response to a void created as far back as the 70s when several regional soca artists looked forward to being a part of Trinidad Carnival and winning.
Our Carnival was regarded as the benchmark for acceptance of their tunes, and it is here that King Short Shirt and Swallow of Antigua and Barbuda and Mighty Arrow of Montserrat earned the respect of Trinis. So much so that Short Shirt's big tune Tourist Leggo of 1976 was the most popular tune of the season and should have been the road march ahead of Kitchener's Flag Woman.
It forced a change in the rules to ensure that the winner was homegrown. We may soon require another rule change to recognise the collaborations at the heart of soca productions.
However, ever so often a new soca star emerges from "the islands" to capture the hearts of Trinis.
It is these moments that T&T returns to the role of regional leader, the headquarters of Caribbean Soca, and memories of the Federation come rushing back.
So it is counterproductive to suggest that the way should be made for Trinis to participate in the soca competitions of other islands.
The International Soca Monarch is already the platform for determining the biggest hit of the soca season and transcends the local "island" competitions.
Regional soca artistes already recognise that the International Soca Monarch competition is the opportunity for them to bring their best game and supporters to Port-of-Spain to show that they are worthy of ascending to the soca stage as the international representatives.
Its time to run wid the reality of Caribbean unity in the soca and congratulate Fay-Ann Lyons' team for their success.