Chemistry was on point for King Vers and Kenyo

Great Bay — His style was unmatched, his lyrics tantalizing and he had the charismatic personality that made the crowd go wild with excitement every time he appeared on stage. Those were just some of the attributes that resulted in King Vers winning the Power category when the curtains went down on the 2018 Soca Rumble competition on the night of Tuesday, April 24, 2018,  in the Festival Village.

King Vers, real name Darin Hodge, is known for his catchy song titles like Yap Yap, Head Gone, Pressure, Get On Bad and Powder & Watta are all very popular hits both locally and internationally. Now he has to add ‘I am the happiest’ to his list along with his first tune of the night entitled ‘Everybody’.

Each of the performances were allotted six minutes on stage and despite the fact that the decision of the panel of judges was final. The crowd had alot to do with the end result due to the fact that each performer was able to get 10 points from reaction of the crowd while they were on stage.

For lyrics, up to 25 points for articulation, effective communication and improving the understanding of the lyrics. For melody, up to 30 points, the song had to be complete with clear sense of inner design, effective carrying of message in song and capturing the mode of the lyrics.

For performance, each performer could have been awarded up to 35 points for overall performance engagement, use of props, body language, use of stage, attire, effective use of props and the ability of maintaining contact with audience.

Most would agree after his back to back performances, the judges had no problem awarding him with 423 points and that saw him walking away with another crown along with US $7,500 cash prize.

“I feel great, I am happy it’s over, the competition was tight and I am grateful for this opportunity to be able to retain the crown. Thank you to all my fans and supporters,” Vers said hours after he was contacted.

In the Groovy category, Kenyo Baly, stage name ‘Kenyo’ had a stage performance that will be a topical subject for a long time. His first round song ‘Infront Ah Me’ must have set the tone for his final performance which can only be described as epic.
Making her way across the stage was a bride dressed in white a during the opening act while Kenyo appeared from the opposite side.

The song titled ‘No Owner’ was like a message in disguise like a married man being free to express himself in a party setting with no strings attached. Just seconds after the bride left the stage, he was joined by six female dancers.

Ironically, it was not just six women, but they all represented different nationalities, his message was clear, living on a friendly island with so many nationalities, he felt free to ‘Wuk Up’ with anyone.

“I don’t need no owner, I want to jump up, jam down, I feeling to run away” was self explanatory, he had the attention of the crowd and the judges especially in the latter stages of his performance when he encouraged the audience to interact.

However, sharing the spotlight with the winners in the two categories was Da Lion whose 1st song entitled ‘Handle Meh’ was good enough to captivate the audience and the judges. But it was his second tune that saw him be rated by sections of the audience as a force to recon with.

For his final song entitled ‘Ram A Mama’ Da Lion was attired like a Goat complete with horns, but putting aside his animalistic tendencies and catchy lyrics. He was able to demonstrate his ability to be an excellent dancer and his supporters loved every moment of his performances which saw him securing the 1st runner up spots in both categories for a cash prize of US $ 2,000 each.

Among the other performers were Shantilla, with a song entitled ‘Don’t Let me go’, Singing Olivia (Dey Mindin Mi Bizniz), Magic (I Love Soca), King James (This is my year), Crugar (Nothing to prove), His Majesty Baker Jr (Looting Ah Whine & Buss a Wuk Up), Ebony Empress (One Life to live & Quality Bumper), Grand Prime (Wildness), Big Daddy G, the most hilarious performer of the night with (Carnival Hog; see video above), Mr Terror (Jelly Water), King Rumer & King Kimbe (Looter Wine) and Teapot (Panty Size).

Photo caption: Winners accepting their prize checks. Photo by Milton Pieters.