Promoter threatens absentee soca artistes – Ultimate ban

AHEAD of the Ultimate Soca Champion competition on February 20, the show's promoter and organiser Jerome “Rome” Precilla gave a stern warning to finalists against dropping out of the competition at the last minute.

“We have already put in our two reserves into the final and what we have seen in the semifinal is some people withdrawing from the competition two days before,” he complained.

Neil “Iwer” George withdrew from the semifinals a mere two days before it was held. Three days before that, Trinidad Killa also withdrew owing to not being able to perform virtually.

When he spoke to finalists as they drew for their performance places at GMLabs on February 13, Rome said the organisers would not tolerate last-minute dropping out.

“We’ve had hundreds of people who applied to be in this competition, who came to the auditions and came into the semifinals. You all were given the opportunity to represent your craft and your music at the final stages and any one of you who wants to withdraw from the competition without a reasonable explanation will not be allowed to re-enter this competition next year,” Precilla said.

He reiterated that the ban would be in effect for a year.

“We can’t have people taking up a spot that could have gone to somebody else and who could have been given this opportunity and then they wake up one morning and decide they not feeling to be in this again. This is not a feeling, this is people’s careers we are dealing with."

He told the finalists, “If you want to withdraw, withdraw now! If not, just know the consequences of your actions.”

Precilla told Newsday that unexpected withdrawals place an unfair burden on reserve contestants who would consequently be given less time to prepare.

“It puts them (reserves) at a disadvantage. If you drop out two days before the competition you’d have taken up the spot of somebody who could have gotten the opportunity to showcase their talent.

“If you want to drop out it’s better you give ample notice, if you don’t think you can prepare in time, give somebody else the opportunity to prepare. Because remember, those contestants have two rehearsals with the bands plus they have to arrange their props, dancers and all of. So we want to give everyone a fair shot.”

He told Newsday the warning did not only apply to contestants in Ultimate Soca Champions but to anyone considering entering a similar competition.

“This is a serious thing. It’s not something you can just jump inside of because it’s fun for you. There are other people who are using this to boost their entire careers.

“We don’t want it to be taken lightly because people depend on this to showcase their talent. So we want to drill that importance into all of the artistes out there who are considering entering this competition. We don’t take these things lightly.”

The Ultimate Soca Champion winner will take home a $1 million cash prize and the winner of the Youth Soca Champion will receive $200,000.

Cash prizes will be given to the other contestants as well. In the youth category $75,000 will be given for second place, $40,000 for third place and $20,000 for fourth, fifth and sixth place.

In the ultimate category, $300,000 will be given for second place, $150,000 for third place and $50,000 for those placing fourth to 11th.

Contestants will also be given funding ahead of the competition to offset performance costs. The youth contestants will be given $10,000 while those in the ultimate category will receive $30,000.

Contestants will be judged based on lyrics, music, vocal performance, stage performance, visual presentation and the response they generate from the crowd.

“This is more than just a competition, this is a celebration of soca, culture and raw talent.”

The Ultimate Soca Champion emerged as the newest government-backed soca competition at the beginning of this year. It is produced and hosted by Star Global Productions (SGP), a joint venture between the Lollabee Group, Rome, Adrian Chandler and Star Global Productions founder Rodney Seemungal, among others.

At a cost of about $8 million, the show seeks to reignite the competitive spirit among artists and boost the soca industry by adding a more modern reality TV component to the pre-existing competition format.

Precilla said, “It’s not only going to be a performance. There’s going to be interviews, part of the backstory and all of that which will fit into the TV side of things.”

At the drawing event, Precilla explained that the show, which will be aired the day after the live performance, will be edited and produced with local, regional and international viewers in mind. The new format is meant to avoid issues such as technical delays disrupting viewer engagement.