{"id":894848,"date":"2026-10-26T03:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T03:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/894848\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T03:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T03:56:09","slug":"snubs-surprises-at-2026-caribbean-music-awards-is-dansa-dennery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/894848\/","title":{"rendered":"Snubs & Surprises at 2026 Caribbean Music Awards: Is ‘Dansa’ Dennery?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tLady Lava<\/a> may have dominated the night with four wins, including female soca artist of the year and zess song of the year (\u201cBob the Builder\u201d), but the fourth annual Caribbean Music Awards certainly avoided clean sweeps.<\/p>\n

\n\tCo-hosted by Majah Hype and soca star Nailah Blackman at Trinidad & Tobago\u2019s National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain on Sept. 18, this year\u2019s Caribbean Music Awards marked the first time the ceremony took place in its namesake region. The official broadcast premiered on the official Caribbean Music Awards YouTube page<\/a> on Oct. 25, delivering a star-studded celebration of the biggest and brightest stars across the contemporary Caribbean music scene.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis year, several new categories were added to the ceremony\u2019s sprawling lineup, including much-needed spotlights of fast-rising genres like bouyon<\/a>, jab<\/a> and Dennery segment<\/a>. Billboard\u2019s Kyle Denis hosted a red carpet livestream<\/a> on the ground in Trinidad, catching up with a bevy of stars, including eventual winners Kes<\/a> and Ayetian<\/a>, as well as the night\u2019s biggest victor, Lady Lava.<\/p>\n

\n\tOutside of Lava, several other acts took home multiple trophies at this year\u2019s ceremony. Trinidadian brother production duo Full Blown<\/a> took home three awards, including soca song of the year for \u201cThe Greatest Bend Over\u201d (with Yung Bredda) and soca video of the year for \u201cGood Spirits.\u201d They tied as this year\u2019s second-most awarded act alongside pop-dancehall princess Shenseea<\/a> and French-Haitian konpa singer Jo\u00e9 Dw\u00e8t Fil\u00e9, who swept the konpa and French-Caribbean fields with his smash hit \u201c4 Kamp\u00e9.\u201d <\/a>Skillibeng, Kes, V\u2019ghn<\/a>, Lila Ik\u00e9<\/a>, Masicka<\/a>, Moliy, Ayetian, Silent Addy<\/a>, and Ravi B also snagged multiple awards.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to over 50 competitive awards, several Caribbean music legends were honored for their timeless contributions to the culture. Billboard Hot 100-charting reggae and dancehall queen Patra earned the Lifetime Achievement Award; Victoire de la Musique winner Calypso Rose received the Elite Calypso Award; konpa giant Alan Cav\u00e9 scored the Elite Konpa Award; and Belizean-born, Brooklyn-bred hip-hop and political icon Shyne snagged the Global Ambassador Award.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the ceremony certainly had its heartwarming moments, there were also quite a few head-scratchers. Here are six of the biggest snubs and surprises from the fan-voted 2026 Caribbean Music Awards.<\/p>\n

\tSurprise: \u2018Dansa\u2019 Wins Dennery Segment Song of the Year<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Klassik Frescobar\u2019s \u201cDansa\u201d was announced as the winner of Dennery segment song of the year, Saint Lucian Twitter was almost instantly set ablaze. Dennery segment, an offshoot of soca combining elements of kuduro and zouk with Kw\u00e9y\u00f2l lyrics and dancehall-esque attitude, was developed in Saint Lucia\u2019s Dennery District.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a fast-rising, distinctly Lucian sound that finally got a spotlight at the Caribbean Music Awards for the first time this year, so it was no surprise that a Jamaican-American (Frescobar) beating out an all-Lucian lineup of songs would ruffle some feathers. The other nominees in the category were: \u201cClap\u201d (Blackboy), \u201cFreak Out\u201d (Hollywood HP & Ricky T), \u201cLife of Party\u201d (Pimp Juice), \u201cNuh Nuh\u201d (Mighty & Mikado), \u201cPain Killer\u201d (Umpa & Mikado), \u201cThe Car\u201d (Dezral & Jardel) and \u201cToko Doak\u201d (Natoxie & Deejay Asap). <\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Frescobar recorded \u201cDansa\u201d over a beat helmed by Lucian Dennery segment producer DJ Kalli, the track is closer to late-2010s Dennery segment than the genre\u2019s current sound \u2014 and it\u2019s notably lacking the Kw\u00e9y\u00f2l lyrics that are a foundational element of the style. In a TikTok<\/a> posted to his official account a week after the ceremony, Frescobar joked that he was \u201cjust as confused as you guys were,\u201d and Umpa, who won Dennery segment artist of the year, recently told Billboard<\/a> that \u201c\u2018Dansa\u2019 had the potential to win\u2019 because of its crossover commercial success relative to the rest of the nominees.<\/p>\n

\n\tUltimately, this should\u2019ve gone to a Lucian Dennery segment artist \u2014\u00a0preferably \u201cNuh Nuh\u201d by Mighty and Mikado.<\/p>\n

\tSnub: Lil Kerry & Muddy Go Home Empty-Handed<\/p>\n

\n\tLil Kerry and Muddy have been instrumental in raising the Grenadian soca scene\u2019s profile over the past year. Kerry clinched this year\u2019s Grenada Road March title with his pulsating \u201cMayhem,\u201d while Muddy landed a spot on Rolling Stone\u2019s Best Songs of 2025<\/a> with his equally electric \u201cPayroll.\u201d Both artists also brought their high-octane, road-ready energy to the Caribbean Music Awards stage in NAPA, and they both earned nominations in this year\u2019s newly established categories of jab artist of the year and jab song of the year.<\/p>\n

\n\tNonetheless, neither artist could take down V\u2019ghn, whose Terra D Governor-assisted \u201cJab Decisions\u201d \u2014 a notable departure from his usual groovy soca \u2014 swept the jab field. Surely, we could\u2019ve spread the wealth for a genre with just two categories?<\/p>\n

\tSurprise: Prince Swanny Wins Dancehall Album of the Year<\/p>\n

\n\tDancehall is one of Jamaica\u2019s biggest cultural exports, so it\u2019s always a surprise when an artist from another island snags an award in the genre.<\/p>\n

\n\tTrinidad\u2019s very own Prince Swanny won dancehall album of the year for his slinky, sultry Saint LP, beating out a stacked up line-up that included Masicka<\/a> (Her Name Is Love), Popcaan<\/a> (Nothing Without Love), 450 (Pieces of Me), Valiant<\/a> (Prove Them Wrong), Armanii<\/a> (The Impact), Vybz Kartel<\/a> (Viking \u2013 10th Anniversary Edition) and Ding Dong<\/a> (From Ding Dong to World Ding).<\/p>\n

\tSnub: Machel Montano & Ayetian Come Up Short in Soca Collaboration of the Year<\/p>\n

\n\tKing of Soca Machel Montano <\/a>and Ayetian, Billboard\u2019s Caribbean Up-And-Comer of the Month for July 2026<\/a>, scored one of the most beloved and infectious crossover soca hits of recent years with \u201cTruth & Balance,\u201d but even they proved no match for the power of Nicki Minaj\u2019s Barbz. The Trinidad-born, Queens-bred rapper coasted to a victory in soca collaboration of the year, thanks to her dedicated fan base rallying around her \u201cEskimo\u201d link-up with zess artist Trinidad Killa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\tSurprise: Masicka Snags Dancehall Video of the Year<\/p>\n

\n\tLast year, Shenseea, Masicka, and Di Genius cleaned up in the dancehall category with \u201cHit & Run,\u201d winning song, video, and collaboration of the year. This year, Moliy attempted to do the same with \u201cShake It to the Max\u201d<\/a> \u2014 which also features Shenseea, alongside Skillibeng, Silent Addy and Disco Neil \u2014 but Masicka thwarted her attempt at a clean sweep by taking home dancehall video of the year for his steamy \u201cRich Sex\u201d visual.<\/p>\n

\tSnub: Bunji Garlin Shut Out for Second Consecutive Year<\/p>\n

\n\tJustice for Bunji Garlin! Last year, the soca powerhouse came up short for all three of his nominations \u2014 and history repeated this year. Garlin earned nods for male soca artist of the year, soca song of the year (\u201cCarry It\u201d), and soca collaboration of the year (\u201cFlatten,\u201d with Voice). Admittedly, the soca field was especially competitive this year, but \u201cCarry It\u201d truly deserved recognition for its expert balance of deft, culture-rooted lyricism and downright galvanizing melody.<\/p>\n