Machel Mon­tano is the new Chut­ney So­ca Monarch af­ter wow­ing the judges with the song “Pep­per Vine” over the week­end, per­form­ing along­side Dru­patie Ram­goon­ai and La­dy La­va in the fi­nals at Skin­ner Park, San Fer­nan­do.

It was Mon­tano’s first time in the com­pe­ti­tion and adds to his record haul of ti­tles which in­cludes six times as In­ter­na­tion­al So­ca Monarch and ten Road March crowns.

Fol­low­ing the win and en­er­getic per­for­mance Mon­tano told re­porters his de­ci­sion to en­ter Chut­ney So­ca Monarch was in­spired by a so­cial me­dia which stat­ed he would be win­ning the com­pe­ti­tion this year.