Runi Jay and duo Luni Spark & Electrify are two of the names released to compete in Cyber Monarch, scheduled for Friday August 07, 2020.
The Groovy and Power Soca event will see 18 seven-minute performances from nine artistes, backed by a live band.
The two-hour pay-per-view event will be streamed live from the National cricket Stadium, according to COVID-19 protocols.
First place winner will get $20,000 cash, second place – $15, 000, third place – $10,000 and the others get $5,000 regardless of placement.
Cyber Monarch is being held by Sunshine Promotions in collaboration with its title Sponsor – Digicel Grenada.
According to the Managing Director of Sunshine Promotions, Ian “Judah” St Bernard, the idea for the event was born out of a conversation among friends about Carnival. He said he thought the idea is feasible, adding that “we thought we can still bring it to the people on social media.”
CEO of Digicel Grenada, Shrivon Redhead, commended Sunshine Promotions for seeking to fill a need to showcase local talent, given that Grenada’s 2020 Spicemas has been cancelled due to COVID-19.
Noting that Digicel supports culture, the CEO revealed that it will facilitate a People’s Choice Award where the winner will get EC$10,000.
Permanent Secretary with responsibility for Culture, Desiree Stephens said the Ministry supports this event and is pleased to be on board. “We know that Grenadians are looking for avenues to have some fun, we know its not business as normal, so we are into the virtual concerts and activities,” the PS said.
According to Akiera Paterson of Sunshine Promotions, time constraint and the COVID-19 protocols didn’t allow for preliminary and semifinal judging stages; hence, the artistes have already been selected.
The artistes selected for this inaugural event are “artistes who are committed to the entire art form, who have been producing constantly,” Paterson explained, adding “ We reached out to quite a few and a few of them confirmed and we settled on the nine.”
She noted that there were those who were apprehensive, preferring to come onboard next time.
Responding to a question regarding the involvement of the Spicemas Corporation (SMC), Paterson said Sunshine Promotions was in communication with the SMC from the onset, noting that SMC is in support of the event, but isn’t able to come on board due to its own virtual event being rolled out.
Further, she noted the Sunshine Promotions chose to focus on Groovy and Power Soca as the SMC will have an event specific to Calypso next month.
Information as to the pricing for pay-per-view access and when it will be available online, will be publicized over the coming weeks.
The event was launched at a media briefing at the National Cricket Stadium on Wednesday July 08, 2020.
