Soca artistes in and out of the Caribbean can now brace themselves for a chance to compete in the finals of International Soca Monarch on Fantastic Friday, 1 March 2019 in Trinidad & Tobago. The dates for registration and the list of events were announced at a press conference on Tuesday, 15 January with newly appointed chairperson of the Caribbean Prestige Foundation for the Performing Arts, Fay-Ann Lyons Alvarez.

Registration: Monday, 21 January to Friday, 25 January 2019

Announcement of Semi-finalists: Saturday, 26 January 2019

International Soca Monarch Semi-finals: Sunday, 10 February 2019 at Arima Velodrome

International Soca Monarch Finals: Friday, 1 March 2019 at Queen’s Park Savannah

Fay-Ann, famously known for winning both Power & Groovy Soca Monarch competitions in 2009 while pregnant was happy to announce that the separation of 2 Soca categories is back for this year’s competition. In 2016 the International Soca Monarch (ISM) held one competition that judged all speeds of Soca that saw Voice winning consecutively for 3 years.

As the new chairperson of the foundation, she believes in ensuring that the ISM is more than a one-time event on Carnival Friday, but rather seen as a festival. Lyons Alvarez is excited to create avenues for young upcoming artistes and to incorporate social media platforms in marketing which were not present years ago.