VINEL Altalet Hinds, reigning Junior Soca Monarch of Guyana, is all set to defend her title when the competition gets underway in February leading up to the highly anticipated ‘Mash’ festivities.
The 20-year-old, who works at GTT, is part of Kross Kolor Records, led by Burchmore Simon, and she credits this company for the guidance so far in reaching where she is just three years after deciding to pursue music professionally.
Vinel has been singing since age five and her mom, a karaoke singer, did much to inspire her career in music.
“She used to sing to me a lot. I actually fell for it and started liking it,” she reflected in an interview with Buzz this week.
Mostly focused on Soca and Calypso, Vinel is grateful that the experts at Kross Kolor Records liked what they saw in her and took the time to help and groom her.
Having decided to join the competition in 2022, Vinel took away the title of Junior Calypso Monarch, got third place in Soca, and ‘Best Newcomer’ in both categories. Then, in 2023, she captured the title of Junior Soca Monarch. “This year I am here to defend my crown,” she expressed.
The Calypso competition is billed for February 16 in Lethem, while the Soca competition will be held in Linden.
Asked how confident she is at retaining the title this year, Vinel said: “Out of 100, I would say 100. I am so excited for this year, and knowing that this year is going to be my last year in the junior competition, I am extremely excited and I can’t wait to show more of what I have.”
It’s her last year in these competitions because of her age. “From next year, I am going to transfer [to] the seniors, with the big dogs,” she joked.
As she works hard currently to prepare for the competitions, Vinel revealed that she plans on bringing out new music, being fully booked for Mash, and doing a new video.
Meanwhile, Vinel’s winning song, “Yuh Lie”, encourages women to be independent and not fall for the lies of men who like to take advantage of them, was composed by Burchmore Simon.
She had also served as a back-up singer for Melissa ‘Vanilla’ Roberts in other competitions and Roberts had been a great help in her securing wins in the various singing competitions.
