Friday, January 4 2013

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Austin 'Super Blue' Lyons...

FIVE-TIME Soca Monarch Austin “Super Blue” Lyons, who last wore the crown 13 years ago, has shocked the soca universe by throwing his competition hat into the ring during registration yesterday to compete in the Caribbean Prestige Foundation’s (CPF) 2013 Soca Monarch competition.

CPF executive chairman William Munroe, in announcing Lyon’s name had been among 400 artistes registered to compete for a place in the grand finals, said “Super Blue’s song, “Fantastic Friday”, is now the talk of the town.” It is a tribute to the event held on Fantastic Friday, he noted, which will be on February 8 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Lyons won the inaugural competition in 1993 with his song, “Get Something and Wave.”

But Super Blue is not the only one in his family who has entered the competition. His daughter, three-time soca monarch Faye-Ann Lyons, and son-in-law, also a three-time soca monarch Bunji Garling (Ian Alvarez) have also registered for the international soca monarch according to Munroe. Reigning Soca Monarch Machel Montano, Munroe confirmed will be defending his crown and the finals is expected to be very competitive with other entries from the likes of Iwer George and Destra Garcia.

The rush was on to get registered yesterday afternoon Newsday observed during a visit to the CPF office on Prince Street, Port-of-Spain. Artistes and or their managers were on hand completing the registration exercise.

According to Munroe, artistes from Jamaica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbados have registered in person, while some from Germany, the United States and Canada have registered online. Prizes this year, Munroe said, have increased with the first prize in the groovy soca category growing from the $500,000 total last year to $1 million this year.

He however would not say what the first prize for the Soca Monarch, which was $2 million last year, would be.

The finals on February 8, he predicted, will be sold out a week in advance. “You will get an idea from the crowd at the Arima Velodrome on January 28. It will be the biggest semi-final ever, ever,” he said.