She’s powerful. Her beauty is radiant and she maintains her stature as the queen of soca music in the 21st century. She is the reigning Power Soca Monarch, Groovy Soca Monarch and Road March Queen. Fay-Ann Lyons-Alvarez will defend all three titles in the coming days and with no hesitation, she says, “I’m ready.” This season, Fay-Ann, with her husband Bunji Garlin (Ian Alvarez), performed at every major Carnival fete. At last Friday’s Army Fete experience, she left patrons yearning for more, so much so that her name was heartily chanted among supporters and fans, moments after the band’s departure. Her response was a command from her 2010 Power Monarch and Road March contender, True Lies: “If everything they say about me is true, hear what to do…Jump, Jump, Jump, Jump!” A creeper, the track has suddenly stolen Carnival, even as JW and Blaze unleashed the road mix to their big contender, Palance, last week. This is what she does; and without apology, Fay-Ann, the daughter of the first Soca Monarch king, Austin “SuperBlue” Lyons, said she’s in the race and she would do what was necessary to defend her titles.

Balancing family and career
At 29, her achievements are many. Family life has proven fruitful and so, too, has her career in the soca industry. When Soca Shakedown spoke to Fay-Ann, she was peeling potatoes for a lunchtime soup. “What people don’t know is that after the glamour on stage, I go back to being a housewife at home, for my family.” Fay-Ann has hired help but, she said, “My husband is a bit funny when it comes to his food. It must be like his mother’s food, you know?” She laughed but, in the same breath, showed appreciation for the help she receives from her helper. “If I didn’t have someone to help me, with everything that’s going on, I’d forget to wash and do the other things I need to do here.”

‘I still have my six-pack!’
On the issue of defending her crowns tomorrow, Fay-Ann said, “True Lies is doing excellent so the music’s in order. Claudia Pegus is my clothing designer and I plan to be outrageous.” She said Soca Monarch offered artistes an opportunity to be theatrical and dress any way they like—and she planned to take full advantage. This season, Fay-Ann has played down the sexuality of her image, opting instead for more flowing, blousy tops. “I know many people feel it’s because I’m hiding stretch marks but it really isn’t a deliberate thing. I still have my six-pack. I just wanted to do more shirts and tights this year. She gave special thanks to 758 Studios and Bunji for their involvement in producing True Lies and added that from a competitor’s standpoint, she was very happy her husband’s not in the running.

With a chuckle, she said, “It makes my job a little easier. In the past few years, even living in the house with him, I’d never know what he would come with on Fantastic Friday. “I would be off stage and see him do things and be shocked at what he would pull off. “He will be missed from the competition this year because his contribution as an artiste has been invaluable.” The new mom, who has been called the first woman to win both crowns while pregnant, said she hopes she could please the crowd that has, year after year, looked forward to her husband’s participation in the international competition. The soca queen said she had no fear of losing. “People who are afraid of losing are people who don’t have an option. They have no choice but to win. When you’re a consistent artiste, you know there’ll be other chances.”

Ready for the road
On her bid for Road March, Fay-Ann said, “The masqueraders know what they want on the road. They want a song that doesn’t sound noisy—a song that when it drops, the feeling you get is like it belongs on the road. That song is True Lies.” She said she was looking forward to the season’s end most of all, because she yearned to spend quality time with her daughter, Syri. “Since the season began, I haven’t spent more than two hours at a time with my daughter and I don’t want my career to infringe on her time.” For now, though, she’s gearing up for tomorrow’s big competitions and come Carnival Monday and Tuesday, Fay-Ann and her hubby will be parading the streets of Port-of-Spain with Carnival band Tribe.

By Aba A. Luke