Double win for Mikey
By Natanga Smith Hurdle
It was pure sweetness for Mikey yesterday when he was crowned twice at Soca Royale, taking both the Sweet Soca and party Monarch titles.
It went from sticky and hot to wet and wild when a downpour descended on the thousands gathered at Bushy Park, St Philip from as early as 11 a.m.
When Biggie Irie came out to sing the first note of the competition with Mas at 3:45 p.m., the crowd was still streaming in and by the end of the night Bushy Park was packed.
The rain didn’t dampen the spirit of those who came out to Fete and it was wukking up Galore during the break after the first competition had ended.
The murmurs from the crowd were about who would be in the top three and Mikey’s name was on the lips of many.
And he did not disappoint.
When his name was called as the Sweet Soca champ, it was met with much more screaming from a bumper crowd than his Party Monarch title, which he defended, had solicited.
While many had left before the announcements, thousands still remained behind, including Team Mikey supporters, to see the king collect $17 500 in total and two Kia Rios, one caramel yellow and the other blue.
When the final announcement was made, second-placed artiste in both competitions, Li’l Rick, had No Behaviour, storming off the stage, only shaking the hand of the acting CEO of the National Cultural Foundation, John Clarke.
He was much more restrained in the announcement of the first results, the Sweet Soca competition.
In contrast, Mikey, in his jubilation, hugged and greeted each competitor after being announced as the winner.
Mikey pulled out all the stops to take both crowns and his presentation in the second half, while the least showy, was enough to amass winning points.
He brought just dancers with him, came into the crowd, played a little, fired off fireworks, then went back to his days as part of the Grass Skirt Posse, wukking up on stage.
He attracted the biggest crowd response with We Loose, his Sweet Soca entry, and No Behaviour, the Party Monarch song. The only other calypsonians to receive such a good crowd response in the second half were Li’l Rick and Edwin.
So that the first three places were no surprises to the crowd, much like what happened last year, which was the same order: Mikey, Li’l Rick and Edwin.
What was surprising though was that many of the offerings were in the same vein – confetti, fireworks, big bombs, mini carnivals with costumed dancers and big screens presentations.
The monotony was evident and the confetti had the volunteers busy after each performance sweeping off the stage.
Red Plastic Bag, who was dethroned in the Sweet Soca competition, did almost the same presentation he delivered last year.
Edwin tried something different with a blimp marked Mmmm that got out of control and hit the crowd.
His presentation was huge, with stop signs, traffic lights and a lit runway. He came to conduct his own orchestra in green tailcoats.
Mikey follows in the footsteps of TC as the second artiste to do a double. TC won both titles in 2009.
The police’s public relations officer Inspector David welch said it was a well behaved crowd; he reported no incidents at the end of the night.
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