Local News Crop Over People’s Choice voting officially open Barbados Today Traffic05/07/20220244 views It’s time to get your votes in for the first round of the official the Student Revolving Loan Fund, Sunshine Snacks Crop Over People’s Choice Competition in association with Banks Beer. This year, the public gets to vote on their favourite songs, with the first round of voting open from July 4 to July 10. In this round, the public will choose the top 40 songs that will move on to the next round. Every artiste that makes it past the first round will receive $2 000, for simply advancing. In the second round of voting, the public will select 20 artistes who will receive a spot to perform on the Courtesy Garage 98.1 THE ONE Soca Rukshun stage — the NCF’s major Soca event taking place on July 31 at Kensington Oval. According to cultural officer at the NCF, Kevin Moore, the shift to a People’s Choice format allows for both a more financially equitable season, while also giving the public greater control. “We know how difficult it has been for our local artists over the past two years, so we wanted to temporarily move away from our usual winner-takes-all format, and give more people a piece of the pot,” commented Moore. Not only will the second-round winners have the opportunity to perform at ‘Courtesy Garage 98.1 THE ONE Soca Rukshun’, they will also receive an additional $1 000 for advancing and $4 000 for their performance. “Again, it’s really important for the public to vote,” reiterated Moore. “Vote, vote, vote! This is a way to show your favourite artistes love and make sure they end the season with some compensation for their very important contribution to Crop Over 2022.” NCF’s Marketing Officer Ashley Dyall further stated: “This is an opportunity for the public to select who they would like to see on stage at the final show. The artistes make music for the people, so we are giving the people the choice for their voice to be heard. What we have here is a democracy, where it’s the people’s choice that will make the final cut.” Voting for the 2022 People’s Choice is available vote.ncf.bb with the first round closing on July 10, 2022. How to vote: • Visit vote.ncf.bb • Click the Vote Tab • Listen to your favourite song CLICK VOTE! • Voters can only vote ONCE! • Round 1 July 4 to 10 (PR)