Sun Divas hope to outshine 14 males in Power Soca finals

Sun Divas, Samantha “Sunshine” Bryant and Nadine “Nadiva” Bryant, have found themselves right in the middle of the male dominated Soca Monarch finals and they are seeking to beat out their competition with a ‘Sick Wuk’ come Saturday, July 8.

This is the first year that the sister-soca-duo have landed a spot in the finals. They are the only females out of the cohort of 15 artistes, and will be performing at position number seven.

Samantha and Nadine spoke to SEARCHLIGHT in between their busy schedule with rehearsals, guest appearances at fetes, and radio interviews. They admitted that the preparation for the national soca showdown has been difficult since they had to coordinate remotely from their London home.

“The preparation has been hard because we are not based in St Vincent so some things are harder to organize- the costumes, the dancers but we have persevered. We have our team so we are making it happen… it has been stressful, we can’t lie.”

‘Sick Wuk’ has been causing a soca commotion wherever it is played and performed and SunDivas tell SEARCHLIGHT they are more than happy with the feedback the song has received considering it was released later in the season than they had anticipated. With one day left, they are putting the finishing touches on the performance and they are hoping to leave a mark in the memory of Vincentians come this weekend.

Nadine said her focus is on empowering women and proving that they can hold their own in male-dominated spaces.

“My thing is to represent for the ladies and do the best performance we have ever done. Not just in music but also in general, I feel like it is good to have those role models, to see women killing it and being confident.

I would love to win Soca Monarch but that is definitely not my primary goal… my goal is to challenge myself in the music and help Vincentian culture to be highlighted.

Sun Divas will be going up against reigning Power Soca monarch, Delroy “Fireman” Hooper as well as Kemmy Christopher; Keneil ‘Dose up’ Alexander; Omarion ‘Marlo Benn’ Benn; Shorn ‘Shorn Beats’ Nimblet, Kelvin ‘Double R’ Wilson & Enriq Marshall; Kahm ‘Fligh’ Haynes; Keith Currency ; Zimbory ‘Ghaza’ Joseph; Kertis Gully’ Marshall; Javid Jay-R’ Rouse; Esron ‘Esron’ Spielbery; Alpha ‘Stinger Nettle’ Allick; Ishatta ‘Shatta` Da Silva; and Kelvin ‘Killy’ Wilson.

Samantha said she expects stiff competition on Saturday night and they want Vincentians to know they are “here to stay”.

“I expect the bar to be high. There is a lot of talent with Vincentian artistes, and I am expecting amazing performances, including all the newer and younger artistes.”

The Bryant sisters revealed to SEARCHLIGHT that they may be considering a semi-permanent move to the homeland of their father, as producing and performing soca in SVG is more “rewarding”.