(Trinidad Express) – Machel Montano successfully defended his Power Soca Monarch crown with his customary scintillating Fantastic Friday performance.
Montano, in what is touted as being his last competitive appearance at the annual Carnival showpiece, took the staged at the National Stadium in Port of Spain in position nine. And decked in a gold suit with red trimmings, he proceeded to excite the crowd with his “Like Ah Boss”.
The show was dominated by the bosses in the industry as Neil Iwer George aka “The Boss” copped second with “Play D Mas”. Iwer came dressed in a kingly outfit of gold and black, complete with a crown to highlight his royal status as ‘King George’.
And first-timer, Nikki “Granny” Crosby surprised most when she claimed third place among a group of seasoned performers with her offering “Granny.” Dressed in a red super-hero body outfit with white shorts and cape, Crosby pumped the crowd when she dropped the mic and said, “Party Done, the competition is between me and Machel.”
In a hotly contested Groovy Soca Monarch competition, Olatunji Yearwood reigned supreme with his popular 2015 hit “Ola.” Yearwood was another artiste who chose gold as his colour of choice and he glittered in his golden suit complete with a golden African-styled headpiece. He was able to work the crowd into a frenzy as chants of Ola! Ola! Ola! echoed throughout the venue.
Similar to Yearwood, Darryl “Farmer Nappy” Henry was bedecked in glittering gold and he showed exactly who was in control of his house with a commanding delivery of “My House.” However, he had one performance adjudged to be a bit more commanding and had to settle for second place.
Ricardo Drue kept his dress code simple with a black suit but he impressed the audience with a vagabond display by removing his jacket and shirt during his performance of “Vagabond”, which earned him third place.