By: Precious Mills
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 25th November 2021) — Chairperson of the Soca Monarch Competition for the St. Kitts-Nevis National Carnival MJ Byron is of the view that Sugar Mas 50 “will be remembered for the soca songs. It just puts you in that nostalgic moment when you listen to every song.” Speaking at a Sugar Mas 50 press conference held on Wednesday 24th November 2021 at ZIZ television studio, he praised the quality lyrics of the soca songs this time around, featuring some 38 registered artistes for the Soca Monarch competition with a total of 48 songs for the Power and Groovy segments combined.
“So we have some great songs out there, fantastic songs, the artistes putting their foot in the songs this year — really great work so I am sorry for the judges this year. We had to bring down that number to eight. This year we’re not having any semifinals and it is something many persons asked — we are going straight from eliminations to finals,” Byron said.
The reigning Power King Mr. Bagnall is not on island, so the full eight finalists will be sent through, whereas seven finalists will go up against Groovy King Rucas H.E., both of whom were crowned for Sugar Mas 48 in 2019. Byron noted: “The artistes are very hyped, energetic; the artistes are hungry for this show; they really want to put back the soca monarch to the top of the show table.” The eliminations are slated for Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th December for Groovy and Power segments respectively.
In talking about the judging criteria, Byron stated: “The judges are not looking for basically which songs are mastered the best. They are taking into consideration the lyrical content, the music, the variations, the use of instruments, the melody lines, catchiness of hooks — all those different aspects in the song itself.” He summed up: “In my capacity I think definitely Sugar Mas 50 will be remembered for the soca songs this year. The songs capture the entire feel and theme.”