International Soca Monarch

International Soca Monarch is an annual soca music competition/fete event, the finals of which are held on every Carnival Friday (aka Fantastic Friday) in Trinidad and Tobago. Contestants in the event vie for two separate crowns or titles, the International Soca Monarch (aka the Power Soca Monarch) for uptempo songs (135 bpm and above), and Groovy Soca Monarch[1] for slower-paced songs (134 bpm and below). Between 2016 and 2018 a change[2] in format meant that contestants vied for only one award but this one category changed was reversed in 2019. In 2016 an additional award was added, called the People's Choice, then subsequently removed, which involves text message voting by Digicel subscribers. Subscribers could have voted multiple times for their favorite artist during the competition and the artist who received the most votes was given an additional cash prize. The International Soca Monarch competition has become the mecca event for soca artists in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) where the event has been hosted since its inception; and also the rest of the Caribbean region, as many artists who have competed on its stage have moved on to successful soca careers. Dubbed the "Super Bowl of soca music" it is a highly anticipated and well-attended event that has been graced with internationally acclaimed recording artists such as SuperBlue (Austin Lyons), Machel Montano, Fay Ann Lyons, Kevin Lyttle, Rupee, and Bunji Garlin (Ian Antonio Alvarez).

Soca musicians from around the region and the world are eligible to compete in the preliminary round of the competition and must attain the required number of points (in a preliminary judging) to advance into the semi-finals and subsequently the finals which is an action-packed event and has been televised and broadcast live (though not always [2]) to viewers in Trinidad and Tobago and (via internet streaming to) the Caribbean and other regions of the world. The competition began in 1993 as a local competition for soca called the Soca Monarch (aka Trinidad & Tobago Soca Monarch), and the event quickly grew in popularity as it always featured the more popular artists singing their favoured songs for each Carnival season. It was redubbed The International Soca Monarch in 1996 when for the first time acts from around the world became eligible to compete for a place in the finals and a chance at the envied title of International Soca Monarch.

At the inception of the competition, all soca artists (whether their song was uptempo or slower) competed for the same prize. In its current format, a distinction is recognised between faster-paced soca songs (135 bpm and above) and their slower counterparts (134 bpm and below) which can still become crowd favorites. Between 2005 and 2015 artists with these slower-paced songs had a chance to compete separately from the usually more hyped-up (and consequently more popular) Power soca songs/artists, and vie for a different title, the International Groovy Soca Monarch. Between 2016 and 2018 the Power and Groovy Soca categories were merged back into one category however in 2019 the growing distinction between both styles of Soca has been reinstated. Therein is official recognition of the evolution of Soca music into two distinctive subgenres.