A striking coincidence has set the stage for Grenada’s highly anticipated Spicemas 2026 festival, after all three defending titleholders in the event’s flagship vocal competitions landed the 12th and final performance slot in their respective upcoming finals.
The quirky outcome affects the reigning champions of three core Spicemas competitive categories: Power Soca Monarch, Groovy Soca Monarch, and Calypso Monarch. For the two Soca divisions, the performance order was decided through a public random draw organized in partnership with the National Lotteries Authority (NLA). Both defending Groovy Monarch Mr Gold’n and defending Power Monarch Muddy pulled the number 12 position, a result festival officials have stressed is entirely accidental. Positions were drawn randomly on behalf of the competing artists, with no manual intervention or bias in the selection process, representatives confirmed.
The outcome for the Calypso division followed a different process but resulted in the exact same slot for the defending champion. Reigning Calypso Monarch Scholar had previously announced he would step back from competing in this year’s festival, so he did not take part in the public random draw. However, official Spicemas competition rules require that the defending monarch retains his right to enter the competition at a later date if he changes his mind. Per this protocol, Scholar was automatically assigned the 12th position to keep his final spot reserved, matching the coincidental outcome in the two Soca categories. All three champions will thus close out their respective final shows when the competitions get underway.
This year’s finals feature a number of cross-category contenders testing their versatility across multiple competitive divisions. Muddy, one of the defending monarchs, is joined by Terra D Governor and duo Luni Spark & Electrify in advancing to both the Groovy and Power Soca Monarch finals. Other artists have advanced to select finals after competing across multiple categories: Happysecure earned a spot in the Power Soca final, while vocalists Valene and Randy secured their places in the Calypso Monarch final. Lil Jelo will compete for both the Power Soca and Calypso crowns, while Killa B, who missed out on advancing to the Power Soca final, remains in the running for the Calypso title.
The unusual draw result has already generated buzz among Spicemas fans ahead of the festival, with many taking the rare coincidence as a fun pre-competition talking point for the 2026 event.