All eyes will be on Skinner Park in San Fernando this weekend for the Grand Finals of the International Chutney Soca Monarch Competition.
Fourteen finalists will compete for a chance to dethrone defending Monarch Machel Montano. Among them is Saleem Beharry, known in the music industry as Master Saleem.
In an exclusive interview with TTT News, Saleem expressed his excitement to be a part of the finals.
“So Chutney Soca Monarch this year is really a personal year for me. I am competing, of course, but I think within my competition, my competing performance there’s a personal message to be sent out. So this year is really special to me. This year I’m actually dedicating my entire performance to my mother.”
Master Saleem also took the opportunity to commend his fellow competitors for their hard work in the industry.
“Again, Chutney Soca Monarch has proven. The semi-final really showed me, you know, the passion and the love that the artists have for what they do. And I must say, pat yourself on the back, give yourself a nice round of applause because it really shows that the love and the dedication is there.”
He reminded them that they should not allow the results of the competition to negatively affect them.
“I urge all the artists, do not allow that to break your spirit. Go back to the drawing board, try to find where you didn’t, you know, check the box, and try to check that box next time around. There have been years that I entered the competition, and I didn’t make it even into the semi-finals. And of course there were years that I would have entered, and I didn’t make it to the finals. But again, it didn’t really break me. The time that I took away from CSM was to really find myself to ensure that I could check all the boxes off. And I think that I’ve found the formula.”
This year, three monarchs will be crowned. They are the International Chutney Soca Monarch, the Queen of Chutney Soca and the Traditional Monarch.
The Grand Finals will be held on Sunday February 8th, 2026.