Tam Tam is the new champion of the Tobago Carnival Soca Titans.
Hundreds of people packed Market Square in Scarborough to see the performances on Wednesday night, and they were not disappointed.
All ten contestants performed with gusto, moving and impressing the crowd, but in the end, there was only one winner.
Tam Tam was crowned the 2026 Soca Titan, scoring one point more than runner-up Verrse, to walk away with the $75,000 first prize.
With Jab Jab on full display on stage and in the crowd, Tam Tam also had a little help from soca legend Marvin Lewis.
Following his victory, Tam Tam said he was speechless but admitted he had put in the work and was determined to take the crown this year.
“I put in the work from 2022 professionally, from Ready Set to now. Last year I thought I would have win with Lean but unfortunately I came third, and I went back to the drawing board. Come back this year with Follow Me, same Jab, and I was like, ‘This year it’s going to be me.'”
Tam Tam has been establishing himself as a Jab Jab artiste and said he attributes his connection to the genre to his family ties in Grenada through his grandfather.
“When I was small, I used to fraid the jab, so this song kinda inspired my childhood because when I see the jab coming down I used to run but now I develop a kind of love for it.”
Tam Tam dethroned Verrse, who held the title for the past two years, by just one point.
Verrse, who is also Tam Tam’s cousin, was proud to pass on the title.
“I am proud of Tam Tam, he have been working very, very hard for this title, and I am happy to pass it down to him.”
Verrse tried to make history with his song “His 3”, featuring soca legend Super Blue, who was passing on the torch.
Meanwhile, third place went to Kedane O’Connor, with “Celebration”.
Despite not winning, he was impressed by the standard of performances this year.
“I think every single year we are getting closer to finding our voice, finding our sound. You know a Grenadian sound, you know a Trinidad sound, so I think we’re getting closer to finding the Tobago sound.”
That improvement in standards was what Secretary of Tourism, Antiquities and Creative Industries Zorisha Hackett was hoping to see in the fifth year of the Tobago Carnival.
“This competition has grown so much; I feel extremely proud. The artistes work really hard. We brought Machel here because we knew the competition would have been stiff.”
Soca King Machel Montano was a guest judge for the night’s competition. After witnessing the performances, he was impressed.
“This was top-tier. I was totally entertained. This means that this is second to none. This was more than jab, more than soca. This was a kinda tambrin vibe; I feel it was different. And I just want to congratulate them; I wish them all the best, and I want to say I personally want to put some investment behind some of these artistes.”
Tobago’s soca artistes still have more to compete for, as the race continues to determine who will capture the inaugural Road March title for the Tobago Carnival.