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Superblue | |
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| Born | Austin Lyons 25 May 1956 |
| Other names | Blue Boy |
| Years active | 1980–present |
Austin Lyons (born 25 May 1956), better known as Superblue, Super Blue and Blueboy, is a Trinidadian calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist.
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Superblue | |
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| Born | Austin Lyons 25 May 1956 |
| Other names | Blue Boy |
| Years active | 1980–present |
Austin Lyons (born 25 May 1956), better known as Superblue, Super Blue and Blueboy, is a Trinidadian calypsonian, soca musician, and lyricist.
Lyons was born on 25 May 1956 in Point Fortin. [1] His mother is a Grenadian and his father is Trinidadian.
Lyons became famous from his first entry into the calypso tent world in 1980 with "Soca Baptist," a song he penned in 1979. "Soca Baptist" won him his first Carnival Road March Monarch award in 1980. [1] He won the annual T&T Carnival Road March title ten times (in 1980, 1981 and 1983 he won under the moniker Blue Boy, and as Superblue in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2013 and 2018). He won the Trinidad & Tobago Soca Monarch (now the International Soca Monarch) title seven times, making him only the second man in the English-speaking Caribbean to win the Soca Crown seven times after Grynner of Barbados who the Road March crown in Barbados the same number of times (1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1998).
Superblue is famous for wearing blue costumes and dancing on top of speaker boxes. He developed a reputation for performing daring antics while on stage for the Soca Monarch competitions.
Superblue has many children. His daughters, Terri Lyons and Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez are in the entertainment industry. Fay-Ann Lyons' calypsonian mother is Lady Gypsy, a soca musician (composer and performer), who won three Road March Monarch titles (2003, 2008 and 2009). Superblue recorded the song "Clear de Road" with Fay-Ann. They performed it together for the International Soca Monarch competition in 2004, placing out of the top ten.
Since his Soca Monarch win in 2000, Superblue remained out of the winners' circle until 2011 when he received the SAO Hall of Fame Award for his body of work. [2] He continues to record music and his earlier songs are considered classic soca compositions, used in Panorama competitions.
He made a return to the Soca Monarch stage in 2013 with his song "Fantastic Friday," and captured the International Power Soca Monarch title in a tie with the defending champion, Machel Montano. His song was played over 500 times on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, beating Montano (who had fewer than 60 plays), by over 400 plays.
SuperBlue is hailed as the originator of the "jump and wave" style of soca songs and is credited by the benefactor of the International Soca Monarch, William Munro with a major role in the success of that competition. [3]
His song "Barbara" was played as background music in the 1998 film Side Streets .
In 2018, Montano and Superblue jointly released "Soca Kingdom" for Carnival. They dominated the Road March competition, winning with over twice as many plays as the second place song. [4]
Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to West African Kaiso and the arrival of French planters and their slaves from the French Antilles in the 18th century.
The Carnival Road March is the musical composition played most often at the "judging points" along the parade route during a Caribbean Carnival. Originating as part of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, the term has been applied to other Caribbean carnivals. There it was and is still viewed as a musical genre.
Point Fortin, officially the Republic Borough of Point Fortin, the smallest Borough in Trinidad and Tobago is located in southwestern Trinidad, about 32 km (20 mi) southwest of San Fernando, in the historic county of Saint Patrick. After the discovery of petroleum in the area in 1906 the town grew into a major oil-producing centre. The town grew with the oil industry between the 1940s and 1980s, culminating in its elevation to borough status in 1980. After the end of the oil boom Point Fortin was hit hard by economic recession in the 1980s and the closure of its oil refinery. Construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas plant by Atlantic LNG in late 1990s boosted the economy.
David Michael Rudder OCC is a Trinidadian calypsonian, known to be one of the most successful calypsonians of all time. He performed as lead singer for the brass band Charlie's Roots. Nine years later, Rudder stepped outside the band, entering the calypso tent as a solo calypsonian in 1986, which was followed by an unprecedented rise to fame.
Edwin Ayoung, better known as Crazy, is a Trinidadian calypsonian. He has been active since the mid-1970s and is one of the most successful artists from Trinidad and Tobago.
Rupert Clarke, best known by his stage name Rupee, is a soca musician from Barbados. He was born in the military barracks in Germany to a German mother and a Bajan father, who was serving in the British armed forces at the time. He later migrated to Barbados. He was signed to Atlantic Records.
Destra Garcia is a Trinidadian musician, singer and songwriter of soca music. She is also known by the mononym Destra. She is one of the most popular female soca artists in the world.
Calypso Rose or Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis is a Trinidadian calypsonian. She started writing songs at the age of 13; over the years, she has composed more than 1000 songs and recorded more than 20 albums. Considered the "mother of calypso", Rose was the first female calypso star and her lyrics frequently address social issues like racism and sexism. Her influence over the calypso music genre forced the renaming of the Calypso King competition to the Calypso Monarch instead. In addition to writing songs about social issues, Rose is also an activist and was given the title of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for former child soldiers along with performing at numerous events for social change. She has received every award available to living artists in the Caribbean.
Ravi Bissambhar, also known as Ravi B, is a Trinidadian chutney musician.
Machel Jesus Montano is a Trinidadian soca singer, record producer and songwriter. Known for his high energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances, he is one of the genre’s most popular artists.
Winston McGarland Bailey OBE, HBM, DLitt, better known by his stage name The Mighty Shadow or Shadow, was a calypsonian from Tobago.
Ian Antonio Alvarez, better known by his stage name Bunji Garlin, is a Trinidadian ragga soca artist. He is also affectionately known as the Viking of Soca. His spouse is Fay-Ann Lyons.
The Book of Angels is an album released by popular Soca artist Machel Montano from Trinidad and Tobago in 2007. The album marked Machel Montano's 25th year in the Music industry and was his first album under a Machel Montano HD re-branding. The album was launched at Trinidad's Club Zen on 27 February 2007 and reportedly sold out within days of its release. The album was relaunched in New York City on 25 March 2007 for the North American market.
Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez is a Trinidadian soca recording artist and songwriter. She is also known by the stage names Lyon Empress, Mane the Matriarch, and the Silver Surfer, a nickname which she claimed during her performance at the 2008 International Soca Monarch. Personally she's married to Bunji Garlin.
International Soca Monarch is an annual soca music competition/fete event, the finals of which are held on every Carnival Friday in Trinidad and Tobago. Contestants in the event vie for two separate crowns or titles, the International Soca Monarch for uptempo songs, and Groovy Soca Monarch for slower-paced songs. Between 2016 and 2018 a change in format meant that contestants vied for only one award but this one category changed was reversed in 2019. In 2016 an additional award was added, called the People's Choice, then subsequently removed, which involves text message voting by Digicel subscribers. Subscribers could have voted multiple times for their favorite artist during the competition and the artist who received the most votes was given an additional cash prize. The International Soca Monarch competition has become the mecca event for soca artists in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) where the event has been hosted since its inception; and also the rest of the Caribbean region, as many artists who have competed on its stage have moved on to successful soca careers. Dubbed the "Super Bowl of soca music" it is a highly anticipated and well-attended event that has been graced with internationally acclaimed recording artists such as SuperBlue, Machel Montano, Fay Ann Lyons Superblue's daughter and Bunji Garlin's wife, Kevin Lyttle, Rupee and Fay-Ann's husband Bunji Garlin.
Heavenly Drum is an album released by popular Soca artist Machel Montano from Trinidad and Tobago in 2009. It was first launched at J&R Music World in New York City on June 19, 2009. The album marks Machel Montano's third solo release after rebranding to Machel Montano HD in 2007.
Mark Antonio Jiminez, better known by his stage name Ataklan is a Trinidadian singer-songwriter and performer primarily of the modern rapso tradition. Ataklan has been referred to as "Trinidad's answer to Beck" and a "fiercely independent songwriter and singer and arguably the most original artist to have emerged on the island since David Rudder". Since his emergence in 1993, Ataklan has released tracks including "Flambo", "Naked Walk", "Flood on the Main Road", "Shadow in de Dark", "Soca Girl" and "Caribbean Swagga", among numerous others.
Full Blown Entertainment is a music production and songwriting company based in the Caribbean twin-island of Trinidad & Tobago. They are responsible for the songwriting or production of songs for a variety of artistes including Boyz II Men, Machel Montano, 2face Idibia, Kes The Band and Kerwin Dubois.
Gamal Doyle, better known as Skinny Fabulous, is a Vincentian musician, singer and songwriter. He is a five-time Soca Monarch winner for his home country Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and created history in Trinidad and Tobago winning the 2019 Road March title with his hit "Famalay" which features Trinidadian soca artistes Ian "Bunji Garlin" Alvarez and Machel Montano.
Travis Hosein, known professionally as Travis World, is a Trinidadian DJ and dance music producer, who works in soca and related genres of music from the Caribbean. He has produced tracks featuring many prominent Caribbean artists, including Superblue, Machel Montano, Lyrikal, Nessa Preppy, Konshens and Skinny Fabulous.
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