Close to 100 register for Ultimate Soca Champion

Director of Ultimate Soca Champion Jerome “Rome” Precilla says close to 100 people have registered for the competition including some notable artistes as well as international ones, despite media reports of some popular artistes opting out.

He added in a phone interview on January 24 that some international acts would be at the in-person auditions at the Southern Academy for Performing Arts (SAPA) on January 25.

Addressing the reports, Rome said some artistes had decided to skip the competition and he said that was okay, but the event was providing a platform for a lot of other artistes and they were taking the opportunity.

“So any of the artistes who decide to sit out this year, that is okay. They will just be missing out on a great opportunity. But we welcome them with open arms in future competitions, if they would like to participate.”

He said at the time of the interview there were close to 100 people registered but there was still time for more entries.

“We have, as we speak, right now, close to 100 people have registered and it is now 10.30 am. We still have the entire day to go.

“We know Trinis are last-minute, so we expect even more entrants by the end of today as it is deadline day. We expect a great turn out at SAPA for the walk-in submissions.

“A lot of people have submitted video submissions.”

Rome said there were “notables” in the competition, without revealing who they were.

As for regional and international interest, Rome said, “We have a couple international contestants who have submitted their videos and have a couple of international contestants who are coming down tomorrow for the auditions.”

The competition is government-supported. There will be strong reality-tv component to it.