Suriname’s most prestigious annual songwriting competition, Suripop 2026, concluded on Saturday evening with a historic victory for homegrown composer Rodney Deekman, who took home three of the event’s top awards in a night of groundbreaking changes to the competition format.
Deekman’s original composition *Konsensi*, which he performed himself, was named the best song of the entire festival by the event’s panel of nine independent industry judges. He also walked away with two additional major honors: Best Performance and Best Video, cementing his status as the undisputed standout of this year’s competition.
The podium was rounded out by composer Sjachnaz Pengel, who secured second place with his entry *No Syi Mi Trafasi*, while Damian Jihntoe took third position with *Lib’ en So*.
A defining and unprecedented shift marked the 20026 edition of Suripop: for the first time in the competition’s decades-long history, participating composers were given the opportunity to perform their own compositions directly, rather than assigning the performance to a separate vocalist. Only two competitors, Deekman and Rafiël ‘Raff Chanko’, chose to take advantage of this new rule—and for Deekman, the decision paid off dramatically, paving the way for his multi-award sweep.
The nine-member expert jury, led by chair Patrick Brunings and completed by members Earnie Eenig, Irfaan Gajadhar, Nita Ramcharan, Jurmic Partodongso, Thirza Perk, Peter Waterberg, Fanisha Salamat, and Melvin Groenveld, evaluated all 12 finalist entries based on four strict core criteria: pop appeal, catchy chorus or verse, narrative engagement, and harmonic composition. Each juror scored entries individually with no group deliberation to alter final results, awarding up to 10 points per criterion for a maximum total score of 40 points per entry from each judge. Separate individual scoring was also conducted to determine winners of specialty awards including Best Performance.
With his 2026 victory, Deekman now joins the prestigious roster of acclaimed composers who have claimed the top title at Suripop, an event that has served as Suriname’s premier platform for emerging and established songwriting talent for decades. The emotional evening ended with Deekman as the celebrated star of the night, marking a historic milestone for both the competition and his career.