Soca Royale rumble

THERE WILL be three battles at Bushy Park  on July 25  for the rebranded Soca Royale, with the overall winner driving home  a brand new car.And officials  of the National Cultural Foundation insist that  the planned contest between the winners  of the Sweet Soca  and Party Monarch competitions will not  be battling on an uneven playing field.The winner will be chosen through  a combination of texting (40 per cent) and scores from the judges  (60 per cent).A question was raised as to the fairness of such  a competition, given the different tempo stipulations  for the two competitions and the fact that the Sweet Soca was  for artistes who would normally not qualify  for the Party Monarch. But festival coordinator David Jordan told  the SATURDAY SUN  it would come down to  the popularity of the song.He added that it was entirely possible  for the slower song to win  the contest. While not going into too many details, Jordan said the contest was  an attempt to make  the event more exciting.“Hopefully, there are two and not one person winning both. One person could still win both technically, if they have two separate songs. “Create a hype  and excitement around  the face-off between the two of them, culminating in the prize being  a wonderful and exciting car,” Jordan explained.Unlike last year, competitors will be unable to enter the same song  for both competitions. According to the rules,  a song vying for the Sweet Soca must  be a maximum of 125 beats per minute, while the Party Monarch must be 126 and higher. (YB)