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| Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez |
Lyrically, she is ready for Fantastic Friday. Physically, she is prepared and judging by the look of last Sunday’s semifinal round performance, the woman who in 2009 walked away with both the Groovy and Power Monarchs, is more than ready for the on-stage rivalry. The T&T Guardian caught up with Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez last evening. In a brief chat, she said the vibe in her camp as the days drew closer was good.
“I am confident of my song and my chances,” she said. “We’ve been in this for some years and we have a more than in depth idea of what the competition is like.” For the soca empress, whose father Austin “Super Blue” Lyons had for years, ruled the Carnival circuit, the Soca Monarch competition means that lyrics and melody must be second to none. “Plenty times you find artistes don’t focus a lot on lyrics and melody and they won’t get the crowd’s response,” she said.
“Another artiste, on the other hand, may have a popular song but they won’t get the crowd response because their music lacks these elements.” On the issue of what’s seemingly an on-stage bit of rivalry between Machel Montano and Destra Garcia who’ve both been chosen to enter this year’s competition, Fay Ann said such is always the case. “The rivalry exists all the time,” she said. “It exists among the women in the industry...this one find she should be number one and so on.”
The Consider It Done hit-maker, however, says the only difference this time around is the fact that Destra brought the issues into the realm of her fans and supporters of the competition. “I compete with Bunji all the time, but it’s not that you compete, it’s how you deal with the rivalry,” she said. Indicating that she herself was sometimes dubbed aggressive, Lyons-Alvarez argued that one could be aggressive and right, and aggressive with some level of class. She says the problem escalates when disrespectful language and attitudes are meted out in the public domain.
All in all, Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez is ready for whatever showdown may present itself on March 4.
“My aim is to survive this Carnival with my sanity because there’s been a lot of nonsense going on publicly and professionally,” she hinted. She, however, says like each year, she focuses on making music that can take her well into another Carnival, regardless of whether she wins the competitions or not. In the meantime, as the heat of Fantastic Friday’s Soca In The City theme penetrates the land, fans, supporters and even ill-speakers can rest assured that Fay Ann Lyons is coming hard on competition night.
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