BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - SIMILAR to the 2014 Power Soca Monarch, Leslie ‘Sugar Bowl’ Morton, Janos ‘Mr. Bagnall’ Bagnall has decided not to participate in the 2016 Soca Competition.
Mr. Bagnall, who in 2014 swept the crowd off its feet and gained the judges’ nod with his ‘Carnival Boss’ lyrics, indicated to SKNVibes that he has chosen to sit on the sidelines for this year's competition.
“I just decided that I am not competing because last year they had too many controversies and I don’t think that every year that Mr. Bagnal should part of the controversy. So, I decided to watch on and learn what I could.”
Mr. Bagnall was referring to several controversies that erupted during the 2015/2016 Carnival Soca Competition, which saw him and Sugar Bowl leading the charge for the artistes.
Undoubtedly a crowd pleaser, Bagnall is one of the more seasoned performers in the Federation who would have travelled and performed both regionally and internationally, and he brings with him a high level of experience to competitions.
Although he had recently released two songs, the ‘free-spirited’ singer is adamant that he would not be performing in the competition despite receiving positive feedback from his fans and others in the Soca arena.
When asked by this publication if he believes that the lack of proper representation is hampering the development of Soca artistes in the Federation, Mr. Bagnall responded in the affirmative.
“You have a lot of artistes not standing together. Some artistes are saying one thing and then you have another set saying something else. So, all of that is helping to kill the whole Soca vibes and everything.”
Pressed on whether he and other artistes, including Sugar Bowl, would be pushing for the formation of an association, he indicated that they have “tried” and they would continue to push to have one installed.
Touching on the topic of prize money, Mr. Bagnall informed that it is too “small” and explained that after one would have paid all of one’s dancers, producer and others expenses, “you’re basically left with nothing”.
“I was basically doing the Soca Monarch out of love for the art form. When I told certain people that I wasn’t entering they were telling me, ‘Man go and do it for the money.’ But I feel if you go and do it for the money you would end up in a bad situation.”
He added that the Soca Monarch Competition has turned into one of the biggest events on the calendar of activities for Carnival, and as a result the Carnival Committee should increase the prize monies.
This year’s Soca Competition kicks off on Thursday (Nov. 24) with the official launch of Carnival slated for Friday (Nov. 18).
