Her
time is now. In 2007, Batson is continuing to make her
mark on Trinidad carnival as a performer. February began
with an enviable first place finish in the bMobile International
Power Soca Monarch Semi-Finals competition for “My
Land” featuring Kees Diefenthaller.
In the same night she placed second in the Groovy Soca
category for her unifying melody “Caribbean
Girl.”
Nadia first heard the news from a journalist calling for
a comment while she was driving home. “Well, let
me tell yuh, I coulda run off de road, eh. It was really
amazing!” said Batson.
Last season was Batson’s first appearance in the
soca monarch finals. Her zouk-infused anthem, “One
Island” earned her an impressive fourth
place finish. “It was already so chaotic last year
with me being in just one category, I can just imagine
being in the two! So right now, I’m working my butt
off trying to make sure conceptually that we have a really
strong show.”
Batson is a dynamic performer in her
own right, fusing talent and charisma to command the crowd
rather than scandalous clothing and overt sexuality. However,
until recently Nadia’s best known contributions
to Caribbean music were for work down behind the scenes.
Batson was named “2006 Songwriter of the Year”
by the Copyright Organization of Trinidad and Tobago.
She has written songs for fellow Trini artists including
two-time Jr. Soca Monarch Young Marcel, Rita Jones, Terry
Seales, Michelle Sylvester and Trini Jacobs. That’s
just where the list begins. Outside of Trinidad, Nadia
the songwriter achieved unprecedented success in 2006.
Batson’s composition, “Flames”
won top honours for Barry Chandler of the band Jabae,
clinching both the Party Monarch and Road March titles.
“Expose”
earned first runner-up for Tizzy of El A Kru in Party
Monarch and placed third for Road March in Antigua.
“I’m sort of like in drop
jaw mode where the writing is concerned because for me
it was a hobby for many years. I really didn’t take
my writing seriously. It wasn’t something that I
had planned to make a lucrative career out of,”
says Batson. “Singing is my first love. It has always
been. It will always be first.” Naturally, the artiste
is thrilled to be receiving recognition for that now.
In the past, Batson has lent her voice
to provide background vocals for artistes such as Machel
Montano, KMC and Bunji Garlin. In view of her current
level of success it is a wonder she did not assume the
limelight sooner.
“I’ve been recording songs.
They weren’t getting much airplay. I guess when
it’s your time, it’s your time.” said
Batson, “I honestly don’t think that either
physically or mentally I was really prepared for the spotlight
or for such hard work because at that time for me everything
just seemed to be really glamorous.”
Much has changed since then. Batson has become her own
competition. The female lead singer of Kes the Band and
member of the Big Artiste Crew wrote four songs still
vying for a soca monarch title. Besides the tunes Nadia
will perform at the finals, she also penned “Dutty”
for Blaxx and “Flames”
for Barry Chandler.
“It’s
not so much about the competition, it’s about putting
on a fabulous show, trying to wow de people,” said
Batson. “I am out to kick ass!”
For more information on Nadia Batson, visit www.myspace.com/nadiabatson
Source:
2006
International Soca Award Winner ~ 'Favorite Soca Info
Website'
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