FIREBALL IS SOCA STAR

Six finalists performed two songs for judges Carol Jacobs, Paul Richards, Carl "Beaver" Henderson and Machel Montano. In the first round, each contestant was required to perform a Soca song from a popular entertainer. Young Erphann Alves kicked off the show with a "crazy" performance of Machel Montano’s "Madder Than That." He was followed by Ria Gulston who performed Destra Garcia’s "Independent Ladies."

Up next was Fireball who performed Shurwayne Winchester’s monster hit "Don’t Stop" with one solitary dancer but the interaction between singer and dancer made for a great performance which was well received by the crowd of young Soca lovers.

Colony followed with "Doi Festival" and they also came on stage with a simple presentation but performed the Bunji Garlin, Keisha Stewart and 3 Veni song most effectively. Crowd favourite Kimba Sorzano burst onto the stage doing Machel Montano’s "Delirious" to the amazement of his audience. The "winer boy" ended his performance by diving into the crowd.

It took MC TC some time to get the crowd settled before the next performer came on stage, but Jameeka Maundy was not fazed by what transpired before and gave a great account of herself with her rendition of Destra Garcia’s "Max It Up."

After the first round it was clear that Fireball, Kimba and Colony were the front runners and the others had to play catch-up. In the second round the contestants were required to sing their original song and, once again, Alves kicked off with "Positive Lyrics." The performers pulled out all the stops in this round.

Kimba Sorzano did a remix version of his song "Put It on Me" and had his audience eating out of the palms of his hands. When he was finished, there were chants of "Kimba," "Kimba," "Kimba."

The shock of the night came from Fireball, however, as he moved through the crowd on the shoulders of supporters led by flame bearers.

Fireball moved into his song "Danger" and literally blew the competition away. For his effort, Fireball received a trophy, $5,000 from FCB, and several other prizes.