Glitches mar Groovy, Power Soca monarch finals

It was a case of glitches galore at the 2020 International Soca Monarch finals, as the once premier Carnival showcase found itself marred technical problems, a two-hour late start and poor audience turnout.

Despite the hiccups, ISM creative director Simon Baptiste believed the show was executed successfully.

The 28-year-old competition for the Groovy and Power Soca crowns, held on Fantastic Friday at Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, was scheduled to start about 8 pm but did not get going until some hours later.

Some reasons attributed for the late start were faulty microphones, audio and screen displays.

Barbadian Osvaldo "Leadpipe" Reid had a two-time false start as his mic faltered and he walked off the stage until it was fixed. He was not the only performer to be affected by poor sound quality. Power Soca winner Neil "Iwer" George during his interview, after winning with Stage Gone Bad, said he found his microphone to be low but he said he raised his voice and kept singing, saying he could not allow that to interfere with his performance.

Jerome "Rome" Precilla, as he sang Easy To Break during the power segment, had to be given a restart after the sound for his intro video was off.

The judges did not penalise Reid and Precilla, the only ones who had to start over, as they understood the technical problems were not their fault. Precilla had no problems for his groovy performance.

However, it was not as smooth for others, such as defending Groovy Monarch Marvin "Swappi" Davis who after dismounting a horse did not have a microphone and was seen mouthing to people backstage for one.

Instead of delaying the show, he danced on stage. Likewise, Johnny "Problem Child" Fontaine, of St Vincent, who sang Nasty Up, had technical issues as the pulley he used to descend to the stage left him dangling for a brief moment.

Speaking with Sunday Newsday on Saturday morning, Baptiste said the production crew did their best to get the show started on time, but there were some things that were out of their control.

He said, “There were some technical difficulties that were experienced at the start, especially with one of the screens. It just failed to work.

“For roughly an hour and a half we did everything in our power to get it work. We are not technical people.”

Baptiste said while he was not laying blame on any person or entity, the contracted suppliers had a responsibility to ensure that the equipment and displays were functioning properly.

“I am not trying to throw people under the bus, but the fact of the matter is, if I pay you (contractor) for a service my expectation is that you do not show up a couple hours before my event.

“You (contractor) will as a professional, either be there the day, or at the very least come as the sun comes up on the morning to set up your equipment.”

Baptiste admitted that the show could have started at the stipulated time, but the choice was made to rectify the technical problems.

“We did not start the show with the problems we were having because it would have affected the performers. But when we realised that the problems weren’t being solved as we had hoped, we had to start,” he said.

Baptiste noted that the provider used in Saturday’s show was new and the decision to make the switch was out of his control.

He added that the backlash on social media is not something that is new and there will always be critiques. The way in which it is dealt with, he said, is what matters.

In responding to a video posted by Rodney “Benjai” Le Blanc about the competition, Baptiste said the competition was fairly judged.

Baptiste said, “The judges were chosen based on their expertise and they do not have ulterior agendas. We deliberately held back the names of the judges because we did not want them to be compromised.”

Le Blanc in a video posted on social media said, “The competition is rigged a certain way. Stop entering these competitions, you all (performers) are selling yourselves as cheap."

He made several other accusations and warned performers from other islands to boycott the competition.

Le Blanc said, “Do not partake in any competition that is treating you (performers) unfairly. In Trinidad right now it is failure.”

Baptiste countered Le Blanc’s claims and noted that there is too much division in the industry.

He said, “We are really good at being divisive. We spend so much time trying to fight each other, and this is not necessary.

“We use the media to create this industry that is built on quicksand and if it is flawed, we need to find better ways for it to be fair in all processes, but we are not good at unity.”

Additionally, Baptiste said the ISM competition is not dying but acknowledged that more can be done to boost it to what it was.

“The patrons have increased from last year, but justice has not been done to the brand over the years. We need to reconnect with the people and the purpose of the competition,” he said.

Baptiste said that the inclusion of governments and other stakeholders, not just locally are needed to prevent competitors from dropping out of ISM.

He noted the situation with Hollice “Mr Killa” Mapp, last year’s winner, who did not compete citing a lack of “courtesies” deserving of a defending monarch from the new management of Caribbean Prestige Foundation (CPF), organisers of the ISM.

Baptiste said the organisers acknowledged Mapp’s concerns and this will be looked at to prevent future dropouts.

Sunday Newsday also attempted to contact CPF director Geoffrey Wharton-Lake but calls to his phone went to voicemail.

The ISM results were announced in the wee hours of Saturday morning with George placing first. Second was Devon “Lyrikal” Martin for his production of Rukshun and third place went to Olatunji Yearwood who sang Thankful.

The Groovy Soca title was awarded to Jesse "College Boy Jesse" Stewart for his song Happy Song. Second was Marvin Davis “Swappi with Jumbie Head and third place was Andre Houlder “Ding Dong” with his song Outside.

* Senior writer Jensen La Vende contributed to this story.