Fantastic Friday is now in South.
This is the declaration of George Singh, the man behind Chutney Soca Monarch as the competition will now be held on Carnival Friday.
Singh told Loop News that the show, originally carded for February 4, had to be moved to another date since Udecott will be officially handing over the Skinner Park venue to the San Fernando City Corporation on February 6.
Skinner Park has been closed for renovation since 2019 but will be ready in time for Carnival events such as Calypso Fiesta and Chutney Soca Monarch.
Singh said the only other available date was February 17, Carnival Friday.
“I think it is a good night for chutney soca, it is something different, there will be people in the country so for those not interested in Machel’s show or looking for something different, they could come by me and it is free,” he said.
Soca Monarch, from which the term Fantastic Friday was coined, has been traditionally held on Carnival Friday. However, the promoters of the event have cancelled the competition for 2023, citing insufficient funds.
While there are a number of events on that night, the biggest is expected to be Machel Montano’s 40th anniversary concert featuring Afrobeats stars Wizkid and Rema among other international acts to be announced.
Thirty performers competed in the semi-final round of CSM in Debe on Saturday.
Ricardo Melville, aka Daddy Chinee, topped the semi-final round with ‘We are One’, while Kenneth Supersad was close behind with his rendition ‘Moonilal’.
The female artistes also brought their A-game, including eight-year-old Katelin Sultan, the youngest person to compete and advance to the finals.
Thirteen artistes, inclusive of GI Beharry, who is defending his title, will now move to Skinner Park in San Fernando for the Grand Final.
GI is also trying to create history by being the only artiste to achieve a ‘beavertrick’ at Chutney Soca Monarch.
The 2023 event will feature the top entertainers from the Caribbean in a special feature ‘Legends and Icons’ where six special artistes from the Caribbean region will be honoured.
The segment will also feature performances from some of the icons of the Indo- Caribbean music industry.
The competition will also crown our 2023 Chutney Soca Monarch and also the 2023 Queen of Chutney Soca.
The 13 performers who have qualified and will perform at Skinner Park in San Fernando are as follows:
KENDALL JAGGERNAUTH
NARI RAGHUBIR
KENNETH SUPERSAD
JAIRAM DINDIAL
RICARDO MELVILLE
AVINASH SOOKRAJ
NIGEL GOBIN
KATELIN SULTAN
SHAZZIE RAMSUMAIR
RICK RAMOUTAR
RAMRAJIE PRABHOO
EDWARD RAMDASS
GI BEHARRY (DEFENDING CHAMPION)
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