The Results are officially in for the new Groovy Soca & Power Soca Monarch Winners for 2020. However, this year’s Soca Monarch didn’t quite flow as smoothly as organizers and patrons would have hoped. From the two hours late start of the competition to the numerous technical difficulties experienced throughout the night. Everyone is still talking about this year’s ISM Finals that took place on Fantastic Friday, February 21^st, 2020.

The night saw a total of twenty four (24) contestants, with twelve (12) each representing in both categories of the competition. As patrons slowly gathered to the Queen’s Park Savannah to show their support, competition was the main focus of the night as soca artistes and their entourages were seen backstage finalizing and preparing to give their best in hopes of walking away with the title. Apart from talent, theatrical displays, and picong, many hidden surprises were some of the night’s highlights and CEH was there to witness it all.

 

 

In the end, the judge’s decision was final as the winners in each category were announced, and with that said Caribbean Entertainment Hub will like to congratulate the newly crowned winner in the Groovy Soca Category, College Boy Jesse. Although this was College Boy’s first time making the finals and some were unfamiliar with the artiste and song, he gave a  spectacular performance of his hit soca ‘Happy Song’ winning the crowd’s and judge’s approval as he showcased true diversity as a natural-born entertainer and vocalist.

 

2020 Groovy Soca Monarch Winner College Boy Jesse

 

Riding into second place, we have the defending champion, Swappi who literally rode a horse on to the stage as he performed his hit soca ‘Jumbie head’. In a high energy performance, Swappi commanded the stage and delivered another great performance landing him a spot in the top three positions.

 

 

Diving into third place was another first timer in the competition and newcomer to the soca scene Viking Ding Dong. The professional Radio DJ turned artiste performed his crowd favorite soca hit ‘Outside’ before diving into the crowd near the end of his performance.

2020 Groovy Soca Monarch 3^rd place- Viking Ding Dong

Now moving onto the Power Soca category of the competition, this is where the main action of the night took place as soca artistes seemed primed and ready to unleash the soca madness. However, at the end of the night, the title belonged to the water boss himself, Iwer George performing his hit soca ‘Stage Gone Bad’ alongside Kes who surprised everyone when he ran out on stage. This makes win number four for the soca veteran (see the full performance at the top of the article).

Moving on to second place, dressed like a king and ready to cause ‘Rukshun’ was soca artiste, Lyrikal with another great performance of the night. The soca star, shocking patrons, came through the crowd on a throne as he made his way to the stage and the rest was nothing short of an epic performance.

 

 

And giving thanks in third place, we have previous soca monarch title winner, Olatunji performing his soca hit ‘Thankful’. Dressed in all white and ready to preach, Ola delivered a great performance on the night, earning him a spot in the top three of the power category.

 

 

2020 was indeed a controversial season for the ISM franchise. With the sudden resignation of Fay-Ann Lyons as chairwoman, to the refusal of  ‘Mr. Killa’ to defend his crown, all hopes were on the Finals to restore some credibility to the competition. Unfortunately, this was not to be as the hiccups mentioned above, together with the mixed reviews of the judging results, didn’t helped to improve the image of the overall brand.

Also receiving some mixed opinions on the night, after much debate throughout the season of whether or not dancehall should be included in the carnival season, was the inclusion of a dancehall segment that featured some of the Trinidad and Tobago top dancehall artistes.

 

 

Despite the many shortcomings of the night, however, one thing is for certain, talent was in abundance and well represented. Additional highlights of the night also included guest performances by KI & the Band who opened the show with a nostalgic trip down memory lane performing hit songs of soca monarch winners throughout the years. Another highlight came when the Blackman Family performed a tribute to the late great Ras Shorty I (the Inventor of Soca).

If you would like to see more from our ISM coverage 2020, visit our ‘CehTV YouTube channel-https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJLwBFvC3-6XmVjhq8Ku9zLOssqaqSay3

We at CEH will like to congratulate all the finalists of this year’s ISM competition and once again the winners. So how are you feeling about this year’s ISM? What are some recommendations will you give the organizers? And are you satisfied with the official results?

 

Related Articles:

Guyana’s 50th Republic Jubilee Soca Monarch Finals

The 2020 592 carib soca Monarch produced the expected spectacle representing all the grandiose of Guyana’s 50th Republic Jubilee celebration. It was a night of onstage artistry in motion featuring dramatizations, choreography, cultural subliminal messages

---

Chutney Soca Monarch 2020 Finals: A Night Of High Energy

Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) 2020 Finals which was hosted by Southex promotions saw a total of twenty-four (24) contestants competing for a chance at the winning title. With massive stage props, dancers, theatrics, high energy and numerous surprises being witnessed throughout the night, the rivalry was definitely on.

---

Hashtags: #InternationalSocaMonarch2020 #ISMFinals2020 #GroovySoca #CollegeBoyJesse #PowerSoca #IwerGeorge #Kestheband #Carnival2020 #TrinidadandTobago