By Robert Andre Emmanuel
The decision to turn this year’s Party Monarch competition into a one-song competition may have been partly to increase the competitiveness of the beloved Carnival event, but with jumpy songs doing a clean sweep of the competition, a review may be needed.
Minister of the Creative Industries, Daryll Matthew, made those comments about a need to review the competition format at last week’s press conference.
Leading up to Carnival this year, the Festivals Commission said that the decision was based on the need to revert the event back to a one-song competition, saying that it was time for a reset moment in Carnival.
However, Minister Matthew, noting the comments expressed by the public following the Soca Monarch competition, said that many groovy songs which would have been separately judged in previous years, were often overshadowed by the jumpy category.
“I believe the overwhelming sentiment is that the groovy artistes really get overshadowed by the jumpy artistes in the competition, and so I believe, at some point in time before next Carnival, we will have to have a discussion to see how we can restructure the competition.
“It may not necessarily be back to two competitions, but how we can properly structure the competition to ensure that all of those artistes who produce groovy music could really be recognized,” the Minister explained.
Minister Matthew said that he did not speak to his team at the Festivals Commission before making the comments, so whether the suggestion for a review will actually result in a change for next year’s Carnival has yet to be seen.
However, the Minister was quick to praise his team for the execution of the Calypso and Soca Monarch competitions, highlighting the performances of the young artistes this year.
“I believe the participation of our young artistes was absolutely phenomenal, and I think it really shows what planning for the future can result in,” he stated.
