NATIONAL Carnival Commission (NCC) chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters and Southex CEO George Singh said competitions are still necessary for artiste development in Trinidad and Tobago.
During the Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM) launch at the Queen’s Park Savannah (QPS), Port of Spain on January 15, Singh and Gypsy said artistes like reigning Calypso Monarch Machel Montano have benefited from competitions.
Last year, at the launch of the Pineapple Riddim, Montano said there was no need for a new soca competition and said greater investment was needed in arts and culture.
Gypsy said on January 15, “I want to say to you, and this goes to the whole spectrum of entertainment in TT, if we did not have competitions in TT, we would not have millionaire entertainers in this country.
“Whenever we, all the artistes in here, whether is the chutney soca artistes or soca, as big as they are, and the biggest one in TT is Machel Montano, if he did not need a competition to launch his career, he would not be where he is today.
“TT is a competitive country and we must understand our culture,” Gypsy said.
While he respected Montano’s views, Gypsy said he did not agree with it.
He said winning the calypso monarch competition elevated Montano’s status a little more and added to his accolades.
[caption id="attachment_1132973" align="alignnone" width="1024"] From left, Avinash "Climaxxx" Sookraj, Reshma Ramlal, Drumzey Entertainment, Ricardo "Daddy Chinee" Melville, Reehanna Gopaul, and Zaheer Big Rich Khan at the launch of the 30th Anniversary Chutney Soca Monarch 2025 at NCC VIP Box, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, no January 15. - Photo by Ayanna Kinsale[/caption]
“Competition is what we do in TT and nothing is wrong with it. Competition is what people do all over the world. That is how all artistes break out…”
Singh said, interestingly, Montano was a five-time power soca monarch and a two-time groovy soca monarch.
“Saying that time for competition was over, even though he himself, came back, in 2024 to win the calypso monarch, a competition..it had to have been important, and it still is important and very relevant. Competitions are very important.”
Singh said the CSM remained the most important Indo-Caribbean event in the world and affected the livelihood of artistes, producers, bands, dancers and others in a very “special way.”
The CSM will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year with 30 artistes at the semifinals on February 8 at La Tropical, San Fernando. There will be ten artistes in the finals with Rick Ramoutar defending his title.
The finals will be held on March 1 at Skinner Park, San Fernando.
Gypsy has supported the event from inception and was happy to see its growth.
“A lot of people look at the CSM as an Indo event. For the life of me, I can’t understand why. It is Indo-based but it is an innovation of the talented people of TT, who have innovated many aspects of our music.”
Singh said this year, the CSM has a new agreement with US-based company, International Film Group (IFG) to distr
