The Ultimate Soca Champion: Measuring Impact Beyond the Prize
The inaugural season of The Ultimate Soca Champion aired on February 2, 2025, emerging as Trinidad & Tobago’s answer to the absence of an official Soca Monarch competition. The competition is co-owned by The Lollabee Group, Adrian Chandler, and Rodney Seemungal. It is a government-backed initiative that celebrates Soca culture and talent, with production and hosting managed by Star Global Productions (SGP), a joint venture between The Lollabee Group and Rodney Seemungal.
Star Global Productions Ltd (SGP) serves as the competition’s production entity, with key figures including Jerome “Rome” Precilla, Sheldon Stephen (Lollabee Group), Rodney Seemungal (SGP Studios), and Adrian Chandler (Strictly FX/Air Committee). Rome, who is also the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Promoters’ Association and the founder and brand manager of Lit 102.3 FM, brings additional industry expertise to the initiative alongside his career as a Soca artist. The initiative is backed by both private industry stakeholders and government support, underscoring its role in fostering Soca’s cultural and economic impact.
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and the Arts, led by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Senator the Honourable Randall Mitchell; the Permanent Secretary (Ag.), Mr. Videsh Maharaj; and the Deputy Permanent Secretary (Ag.), Mr. Martel Waldron, contributed $4 million of the competition’s $8 million budget, underscoring its investment in Soca’s cultural and economic impact. With a prize pool accounting for 25% of the total budget, or half of the government’s contribution, The Ultimate Soca Champion awarded $1 million TTD (approximately $150,000 USD) to its grand prize winner, Blaka Dan. The Grenadian-born, Trinidad-raised artist took home a sum nearly five times the average annual salary in Trinidad & Tobago, making his victory financially transformative. Additional awards included $300,000 TTD for second-place finisher Yung Bredda, with his track The Greatest Bend Over, and $150,000 TTD for third-place winner Preedy, with his song Blaze Fire. Both Yung Bredda and Preedy also made strong showings in the competition, with The Greatest Bend Over continuing to resonate on the charts even after the season’s conclusion. Yung Bredda was also named the Bmobile People’s Champion, securing an additional $10,000 cash prize, a mobile phone, and a year of free service.
The question remains: beyond the financial windfall, did the competition meaningfully impact the music itself?
On the day of his victory, February 20, Blaka Dan’s winning song, Blessing, stood at #25 on Trinidad & Tobago’s Apple Music Top 100, having previously peaked at #15. Within two days, the track returned to its previous high and continued to climb. By Ash Wednesday, Blessing had reached #3, surpassing the Big Links Riddim and trailing only Power Soca frontrunners Pardy and Carry It. On Spotify, where the song had accumulated just over 100,000 streams by February 20, its daily average surged from 300 to over 3,000 streams. In two weeks, Blessing added 50,000 new streams—an increase of 50%—signaling its growing traction beyond the competition’s immediate audience.
The trajectory of Blessing had already shown signs of promise prior to Blaka Dan’s win. In an article published on February 13, as the competition was in full swing, the track had accumulated 86,000 Spotify streams and was sitting comfortably at #18 on Trinidad & Tobago’s Apple Music Top 100. Less than three weeks later, that number has nearly doubled. The early signs of audience engagement suggested that Blessing was already on an upward path, and the competition’s spotlight only accelerated that growth. Read more about the song’s rise here.
Regional momentum mirrored this trajectory. In Grenada, where Blessing had previously peaked at #8 during the island’s carnival season, the song rebounded from #97 to #14 following Blaka Dan’s win. In Barbados, it debuted at #138 on Apple Music’s Top 200, indicating fresh listener engagement. The British Virgin Islands saw Blessing achieve a new peak at #19, while Saint Vincent & the Grenadines propelled it to #1 on Trinidad Carnival Tuesday. In Saint Lucia, the song entered the Apple Music Top 200 at #179 just before the competition’s conclusion and quickly climbed to #7.
Beyond the Caribbean, Blessing saw measurable success in North America. In the United States, it entered Apple Music’s World chart at #184 on February 23 and steadily ascended to #30. In Canada, it debuted at #180, marking its initial reach into that market. The numbers paint a clear picture: The Ultimate Soca Champion significantly elevated the song’s visibility, allowing it to break into new territories and maintain upward momentum weeks after the competition.
The same, however, cannot be said for the Youth Champion winner, Nkosi Sucre. Crowned with his song The Greatest, Sucre took home a $200,000 prize, a sum exceeding the average annual salary in Trinidad & Tobago. Yet, while some movement was noted on Apple Music’s World chart in Guyana and Grenada, The Greatest has not demonstrated the same commercial lift as Blessing. The disparity suggests that while the competition offers financial incentives, its true impact on a song’s trajectory depends on audience reception and market dynamics.
As Trinidad Carnival concludes, many Soca artists take their current-year hits on the road, performing across various markets. Already, Blaka Dan has secured performances outside the Caribbean, including in Canada. With more promoters now able to include the Ultimate Soca Champion winner in their lineups, opportunities for international bookings will likely expand over the coming months. Grenada Carnival, a major mid-year event, presents another stage where his visibility may continue to grow. Considering that most performing Soca artists generate over 60% of their income from live shows, Blaka Dan’s victory not only brings financial rewards but also opens doors to sustained exposure and performance opportunities throughout the year.
If you’re looking to track the ongoing success of Blessing, or to explore other Soca competition results, our Soca Competition Tracker provides an up-to-date tool to check out data on past and current Soca competitions. You can search by artist, including Spotify streams. This valuable resource is perfect for anyone who wants to dive deeper into the numbers behind Soca’s success, helping you stay informed about the latest hits and trends in the genre.
Ultimately, The Ultimate Soca Champion delivered on one of its promises—at least for its overall winner. The competition not only awarded significant financial support but also created a launchpad for Blessing, proving that such platforms can serve as a springboard for emerging Soca artists. Whether future iterations will yield similar outcomes remains to be seen, but for Blaka Dan, the win has been more than just a title—it has been a catalyst for growth—a significant blessing.
Get familiar with the winning artists by checking out their music on Spotify:
