Guyana’s reigning Road March Queen, 24-year-old Omaiah Hall, is in Trinidad and Tobago ahead of Carnival 2026, as she works to build regional connections and expand her presence on the Soca circuit.
Hall, who placed third in the Senior Soca Monarch competition last year, says Guyanese Soca artistes must have a deep love for the genre to remain authentic. Though she is now firmly rooted in Soca, Hall admitted her musical journey did not begin there.
“I was never a person who sang Calypso or Soca music. My father is a pianist and jazz musician. I just never found an appeal for being on stage and wining up,” she said. Her passion, she explained, was originally R&B.
Hall’s perspective shifted after she won the Junior Calypso Monarch competition in 2020 during Mashramani, Guyana’s annual Republic Day festival held on February 23. A few years later, she began experimenting with Soca music, and by 2023, she said the genre had completely captured her.
“In 2022, I realized I only wanted to do Soca music. Soca found me!” she said.
That transition quickly paid off. Hall released “We Fetting” in 2023, followed by “R” in 2024, both of which gained strong local traction. “I was booked and busy and one year later in 2025, I won the Road March title, with ‘Breakway’ — dethroning Melissa ‘Vanilla’ Roberts, who had been the Road March Queen for a decade,” she said.
As she continues to build her catalogue, reputation and fanbase, Hall has released a 2026 Soca track, “Happy Feeling,” which she says has been receiving strong support in Trinidad and Tobago. She has also released a second single, “Foreva,” accompanied by a music video, which she has positioned as her Road March contender for Guyana Carnival 2026.
While Guyana’s official Carnival takes place annually in May, Hall believes both Guyana’s festivities and Trinidad’s Carnival offer unique experiences. “Guyana is becoming more open to Soca now because of the younger generation’s involvement in the genre,” she said.
She noted, however, that Dancehall remains dominant in Guyana, prompting Mashramani organizers to introduce a Dancehall Monarch competition over the past three years. “Guyana is all dancehall. Many say Soca music is too happy of a genre,” she said, adding that artistes such as O.K.C, Pahjo and Vinel Hinds have consistently represented and popularized Soca in the country.
During her current stay in Trinidad and Tobago, Hall has been actively performing and networking. She appeared at Nailah Blackman’s concert in January and also performed at A-Team Fridays, Vice Nightclub and the Eye Slam concert series.
“When it comes to my music, and my performance style, I’ll say, Omaiah Hall will always bring vocals. Added to that, I’m a strong performer. I will wine up!” she said.
Those attributes, she said, may have contributed to her being named Guyana’s Female Soca Artiste of the Year in 2025.
Hall credits several regional artistes for inspiring her career, including Machel Montano and Trinidad and Tobago’s Fay Ann Lyons. “I love Fay Ann. I have been compared to her many times. She is powerful—the way she commands the stage, the way she is unapologetic about who she is,” she said.
She also acknowledged the influence of the late Dexter “Blaxx” Stewart, whom she said helped open doors for younger artistes. While she has met Montano previously in Guyana at CPL events and at Super Concert backstage, Hall said she hopes for deeper professional collaborations in the future.
“I haven’t been able to make that solid, professional connection with Machel just yet but I am optimistic,” she said.
Now fully immersed in Trinidad’s Carnival season, Hall says she plans to take part in street festivities in costume for 2026, after a quieter stay in 2025 following her Road March victory.
Her Road March title, she emphasized, carries particular significance. “The title holds weight because the people want to hear the song and that was the moment when I said, it wasn’t for the judges, or me, it was for the people. The people loved it!”
Though she has not yet traveled internationally, Hall says opportunities are emerging. “I’m yet to travel internationally but I will soon. My music travels more than I have and that’s actually creating room for me to travel because I have a few places to go this year,” she said.
