BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AFTER two nights of competition, the favourites have let themselves be known while several veterans have laid stakes to claiming the Soca Monarch title.
Dejour, Gharlic and Bary C were at the top of the ladder at the end of the two-night eliminations held on the evenings of Thursday (Nov. 30) and Friday (Dec. 1) at Carnival Village.
Dejour, who performed on night one with his ‘Soca Rebel’ lyrics, topped the competition, amassing 205 points.
He was followed by the vibrant Gharlic, who sweetened the pot to gain 202 points with ‘Ghost Inside A De Jam’, while the lyrics of ‘Bring your Bumper’ performed by Bary C was in the third position with 197 points at the end of the elimination segment.
Bary was the crowd’s favourite with his ‘old school’ groovy rendition.
The three artistes formed a slate of 20 participants who have qualified for the semi-finals.
Included in the bunch is event favourite Nicha B, who performed his signature ‘Bam Bam’ to gain 194 points.
Also progressing is Lil Miss with ‘Indicator’. She laid down a sensual performance on night one which was well received.
Many might be surprised that the much-improved Jesse ‘J Money’ Astaphan singing ‘Carnival Love’ was eliminated and progressing to the semi-finals is Wayne P with his ‘Chinese Soca Gal’.
But, according to Bary C, it comes down to the judges’ decision.
“So, we just did enough to let the band and the music speak for itself...the judges’ now have to do what they have to do.”
For the elimination leg of the competition, the participants were judged on Lyrics and Music.
The full list of artistes progressing to the semi-finals are:
• Dejour – ‘Soca Rebel’ with 205 points;
• Gharlic – ‘Ghost Inside A De Jam’ with 202 points;
• Bary C – “Bring Your Bumper’ with 197 points;
• X-Mman – ‘Pop & Flick’ with 196 points;
• M. Hype – ‘Crazy People’ with 195 points;
• Nicha B – ‘Bam Bam’ with 194 points;
• P Plus – ‘Sweet Sugar City’ with 186 points;
• K-Warner – ‘Waving Party’ with 186 points;
• Wayne P – ‘Chinese Soca Gal’ with 183 points;
• Nickhail – ‘Bring Dah’ with 180 points;
• C-Mac – ‘Carnival is We’ with 180 points;
• Steel – ‘Wukup Without A Cause’ with 174 points;
• Jeez Sparta – ‘Sparta Mas’ with 172 points;
• Jazzbo ft Tobap – ‘Whine On Me’ with 171 points;
• Dagah – ‘Can't Miss J;Ouvert’ with 170 points;
• Lil Miss – ‘Indicator’ with 169 points;
• Blade – ‘Waistline’ with 168 points;
• Teflon – ‘De Vibes’ with 168 points;
• DJ Woodis ft Selecta Mad – ‘Wootoop TV’ with 166 points; and
• Daddy 2 Sec – ‘Bite Dem Up’ with 165 points.
