More than 220 entries have been submitted for the revived Party Monarch competition, underscoring strong demand for the platform’s return and signalling a competitive Crop Over season ahead.
The National Cultural Foundation (NCF) announced on Monday that 92 performers have registered for the Power Soca category, while 134 entries have been received for Sweet Soca, signalling strong interest in the competition’s comeback after its absence in recent years.
President of the Barbados Association of Creatives and Artistes (BACA), Barry Knight, welcomed the response, saying the return of the competition has clearly filled an important gap for performers.
“The competition coming back is a good thing. For me, it was a void in terms of artists not having that platform, not only to express their work through a competition format, but also to regain or gain some monetary gains from it as well.”
He noted that beyond providing a stage for performers, the competition also offers an opportunity for artists to earn income after investing heavily in producing their music.
“When they go in the studio and release these songs, they pay all this money. It’s good to have something that you could push back on in some way and gain some sort of monetary compensation from it if you’re successful.”
Knight also praised the revised registration process, which relied on online submissions and specific entry requirements for both Sweet Soca and Power Soca.
“In past years it was through the tents and stuff like that, but this process is a little bit more streamlined,” he said. “The amount of names I saw come through shows the interest that was there. There was a heavy interest to meet the requirements, and they were successful based on what we’re seeing there.”
The BACA president believes the mix of established performers and newcomers will make for a compelling competition and could further elevate the profile of the Crop Over festival.
“Based on what I’m seeing, it should be very exciting. You have a lot of familiar names and new names, so it’d be good to see how the new artists match up against the veterans.”
He added that the competition has the potential to showcase the depth of talent while creating greater anticipation for the festival season.
“It should be a healthy dose of entertainment going forward and really put the festival on the map. With the calibre of competition, the promotion behind it and the excitement behind it, it’ll be good to see what the artists bring to the semi-finals and definitely the finals as well.”
(SB)
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