BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DESPITE not being able to defend his Groovy Crown, Caseem ‘Rucas’ Pemberton is upbeat about his chances in this year’s Soca Monarch Competition and is allowing fans to choose his entry from among three songs.
Pemberton, who masterfully ‘Swayed’ his way to the title last year, has an uphill task in capturing the Soca Monarch Crown as the National Carnival Committee (NCC) had decided to merge the Groovy and Power segments.
Speaking with SKNVibes Entertainment, Pemberton explained that he has released three songs this year - two Groovies and one Power – from which one would be entered for the competition.
“To be honest, I have not decided which song I am going to use as yet, as couple of options this year. So far, for the year I have released three songs, with those being: ‘Memory’, ‘I am Headline’ and ‘Spread Out’. The team and I decided that we are going to decide which song we are going to use for Soca Monarch.”
A jovial Pemberton noted that though he sang a Power song, he does not believe the changes instituted by the Carnival Committee means he has to enter that in order to be competitive or even win the competition.
“I am entering with a Power song or a Groovy song. It doesn’t really matter because what I say is that what wins competitions is what is on paper and how you perform on the evening – criteria are what win shows.
“So, it doesn’t matter what song you enter with. You just have to pay close attention to those criteria and you should be good,” he intimated.
Pemberton will be entering the event in the Finals, where he and the duo of KT and Lax are favourites to snag the title.
Last year, the flamboyant entertainer laid it all out on the stage with his ‘Sway, where he grabbed the crowd and the judges’ attention.
This year he is hoping to have a repeat performance, but when asked for a comment on him not defending his crown, he stated that he had never given it a thought.
“I have never had the chance to sit and say that I am thinking about that. But, honestly, it doesn’t make me feel anyway because at the end of the day I am still entering the competition and still be gunning for the crown.”
Since winning the title last year, Pemberton was invited to compete and perform at events in the region and also in the United States.
Just recently he had performed at the St. Kitts-Nevis Independence Celebration in the United States.
His biggest recognition came at this year’s British Virgin Islands Soca Monarch Competition, where he captured the Grooviest title.
