These were the powerful words echoed by soca queen Destra Garcia after she commented on the question of her chances at this year’s Soca Monarch Competition. She said that last year she spent more time verbally stating that she wanted to win every competition, however this year she says, is different.

Destra who has a number of singles for the season, including the recently released, Attitude on the Red Bull riddim, admitted that she let her fans down with her performance at Soca Monarch last year, but explained that it was never about the competition.  She told BOOM that this year she is very confident in her material  but admitted that winning titles isn’t her main focus.“This year it’s a completely different vibe. It’s about giving my best at my performances and looking good. It’s not about a competition. It never was.”

Saying that she had no thoughts on Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann’s decision to boycott the Soca Monarch competition this year, the Baddist co-vocalist said she respected their decision. “If I made a decision I wouldn’t want anybody commenting on it.  I did it for my reasons. Just as they decided not to enter because they have their reasons; they are in control of themselves.” As for that particular hit single with Kerwin Du Bois-Baddist, Destra said together they were able to put a positive spin on what is usually deemed a negative word. “In essence the song is just about enjoying yourself; whether you go out and get on drunk and disorderly like Sparrow said in the ‘earlies’ or just mashing up the place. It means different things to different people but the lyrics to the song are self-explanatory; it’s not meant to be sexual at all.”

Look out for Destra with her new look at some of the country’s hottest fetes including the annual Central Bank all-inclusive next Saturday.