Malika: It’s good to be back

Back with a bang!Malika Hart is back on the calypso stage after a nine-year break. The 26-year-old former junior monarch champion, who won three crowns – in 1994, 1996 and 1999 – is ready for the big stage again.Malika took an extended break to pursue her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, in seeking to become a “professional”.“I took a break to go and study structural and civil engineering at the University of the West Indies and Imperial College in the UK,” she said. When asked what prompted her return, she said: “I felt like coming back.“I felt like singing this year and I was in the island, so I decided to do it. I wrote two songs for myself with the help of Anthony Sargeant, who has been with me from the junior level, and Anthony Carter [Gabby],” she added.With her comeback, Malika is showing that she has not lost her talent. Having won the in-house competition in her tent, Super Gladiators, and making it all the way to the semi-final of the Banks/LIME Pic-O-De-Crop for the very first time, Malika confirmed that the in-house win was a “confidence boost”.“I came back thinking I wouldn’t even know how to hold a microphone. [After I won] I felt like I still had some talent. It was not a plan; I did not even know they had [a competition]. I was just using it as a stage to practise on,” she said.“I will not say it comes naturally; I trained hard and prepared for it. It feels good to be in the competition and hopefully it pays off to some extent,” she added.Tonight, Malika will be performing De Bajan Dream and Order In The South in the semi-finals, with hopes of making it to the finals.As to her future, Malika said, “What happens, happens.”“It is something that I like. But . . . some situations may arise that would prevent me, like before when I was in and out of the island. As long as I am here and settled and I can do it, I will do it,” Malika added.