SAYING he felt “renewed,” Jumo ‘Rubber Waist’ Primo rebounded from finishing fourth last year in the Soca Monarch Competition to pick up the 2022 crown, when the competition wrapped up at the National Stadium in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

Jumo picked up his sixth title win with an energetic performance of his song, “Living My Life,” which saw him receiving 259 points. With 252 points, Ivelaw ‘Granny Ivy’ Campbell took the second spot following his humorous delivery of his song, “Bumpa Tricks.”

Defending champion Samuel Medas, finished third with 245 points. His performance of “People” failed to move the crowd despite the words of encouragement for persons to rise above their circumstances and challenges.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on stage moments after his return to the throne, Jumo credited his resilience and determination to overcome his dismal finish last year as the driving force behind his win.

“I feel renewed in the sense that I came from fourth last year and instead of breaking me, it built me. I am so grateful to God for the inspiration that he gave me to prepare and write this song,” Jumo said.

Jumo said his song came with an underlying encouraging message which resonated easily with the public and helped to push his song to popularity leading up to competition night.

“This song came from a deep place, from all of my struggles and it shows that you must never give up. No matter how hard things are, you have to keep fighting, and that is what won tonight.

Never giving up is what won, not just the song. I am excited, I am grateful, and I am inspired to do even greater things,” he shared.

The penultimate performance of the night, Jumo who came to the stage jumping, was decked out in an all-black ensemble surrounded by his backup dancers, each wearing coats in different colours over white outfits.

From his first jump, Jumo had the crowd hooked on his words and energy with his opening line, “I don’t give a damn what people say about meh, I’m living my life” landing well.

As his performance continued, he took control of the crowd and had them singing, waving, running on the spot and screaming as they followed his every instruction. They were all the more regaled as he gave them some of his “rubber waist” moves and did some splits during the performance.

However, the most crowd-pleasing act of the night definitely went to Granny Ivy, who also picked up the “Best Newcomer Award.” Prancing about the stage in a stuffed-up derrière, he was surrounded by backup dancers decked out in colourful gym wear, as he delivered instructions for a “bumpa” work out.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle after his second-place win, Granny Ivy noted that his placement came as no surprise to him.

“I feel great. I know that I had to place in the one, the two or the three [position]. And I made it into second position, so I’m so happy for myself and proud of all the people that [sic] supported Granny and wish them all the best as well,” the 40-year-old commented.

Medas for his part did deliver a lively performance despite not connecting as much with the crowd. His performance opened with a story line of the need for “people” to ensure that they always lend a helping hand and are kind to their neighbours.

During his performance, the renowned Psalmist and gospel singer, noted that he felt moved to return to the competition to use the platform as a means of better spreading his message about his love for God and for his own backstory, which shows that anyone can go from nothing to being something great.

Other notable acts of the night included Vanilla’s performance of her piece “Salute,” which was partially a tribute to persons who lost their loves to COVID-19, Tenecia ‘Nekeita’ DeFreitas’ performance of “Right Hay” and former Soca Monarch Brandon Harding with his performance of “Mega Star”.

The night saw performances from 14 competitors. Allison Hinds, the “Queen of Soca”, closed off the night’s activities, which came to an end after 03:00hrs on Sunday.