The Brooklyn-based Everybody’s magazine has selected Trinidad and Tobago Soca superstar and calypsonian Machel Montano as its Person of the Year 2025, highlighting his influence and exceptional impact.
Herman Hall, the Grenadian-born publisher of Everybody’s magazine, told Caribbean Life on Monday, Dec. 29, that other nominees received many votes. These included Zohran Mamdani, New York City Mayor-elect; Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley (Everybody’s Person of the Year 2021); Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar; Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Western Jamaica and parts of Haiti and Cuba; Aisha Braveboy, Prince George’s County Executive, MD; and Winsome Earle-Sears, Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor.
“This recognition celebrates Montano’s significant contributions to promoting Caribbean culture, his role in integrating the Caribbean, and his continued pursuit of higher education, which serves as an inspiration for the younger generation,” Hall said.
He said that, over the decades, Montano has been frequently nominated by the magazine’s readers residing across many countries and most US states.
“While most nominees are not household names, they were suggested for providing exceptional services in their respective communities, from feeding the needy to helping youth secure an education,” Hall said. “For many years, Machel has consistently received a respectable number of votes from Everybody’s magazine readers. This year, he was among the top five finalists.
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As customary, we presented the five names to approximately 15 persons across London, Toronto, Jamaica and cities here in the US. The vast majority favored Machel.”
On a personal note, Hall said he was at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan in 1984, when 9-year-old Montano “mesmerized everyone.
“Shadow, whom I represented as his booking agent, often said to me, ‘Machel will be an international star if he has his own band.’
“To me, that’s the cardinal reason why Machel has become an icon because, with his own band, he gives stellar concerts,” Hall added. “Moreover, he excels as a composer and truly understands the business of show business.
“Based on early feedback from our subscribers in several states, from California to New Jersey, it seems that Machel as PoY (Person of the Year) is clearly a wise choice,” he continued. “I thank our readers for suggesting a PoY.”
Hall disclosed that December 2026 will be Everybody’s final PoY and Global Caribbean edition since the magazine will cease publishing after 50 years.
He said Everybody’s photographs and documents will be in the depository of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem and Yale University African Collection.
Hall said the magazine commenced its Person of the Year Award in 1978 (then Man and Woman of the Year) to celebrate the magazine’s first anniversary.
That year, Trinidadian Janelle Commissiong – who, in 1977, became the first woman of color to be crowned Miss Universe – received the accolades, Hall said.
He said Commissiong shared the honor with Calypso Rose.
Hall said late St. Lucian economist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Sir Arthur Lewis and his wife attended the magazine’s 1980 dinner in his honor, celebrating his 1979 Nobel Prize. Sir Arthur was the first Black person to win the Nobel Prize for economics.
Recent Everybody’s Person of the Year includes actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Jamaican Olympian Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Eastern Caribbean Olympic medalists.
Soca King Montano demonstrated his versatile talent by winning the 2024 Trinidad and Tobago Calypso Monarch for “Soul of Calypso,” further cementing his status as a musical leader.
Performing at position no. 3, Montano, then 49, eclipsed defending monarch Duane Ta’Zayah O’Connor and 10 other contenders on his way to snatching the coveted crown.
He became the first artist to win the Young Kings, Road March, Soca Monarch, and Calypso Monarch titles at the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.
Montano, the six-time Soca Monarch, is also a 10-time Road March King in Trinidad and Tobago.
Before performing at the Diva Calypso Cabaret on Jan. 25, 2024, at the Little Carib Theater in Port-of-Spain, Montano noted on social media that calypso is where he started. “I felt real joy composing and creating this one (‘Soul of Calypso’), as I thought about the roots of Soca and all of the evolving forms of our music that flow from the kaiso fountain,” he said.
“Calypso started with Kalinda and Cariso back in the Barrack yards and has evolved to be known around the globe,” he said. “I’m excited to keep exploring and trying my hand at penning more kaisos like this. Stay tuned.”
Montano, born on Nov. 24, 1974 in Port-of-Spain, describes his journey in his biography, “The Making of Monk Monté,” stating he was “destined to be great.”
Through his ever-evolving musical offerings, Machel works to deposit Soca into mainstream music. His career began in 1982 at 11. At the age of 9, he formed his band, Pranasonic Express.
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Machel Montano’s biography chronicles an extraordinary career that began in childhood and evolved into one of the most influential legacies in Caribbean music. His rise started early, with a landmark appearance at Madison Square Garden in 1984 at just nine years old, supporting calypso greats including the Mighty Sparrow. In 1985, his debut album Too Young To Soca became an instant hit, earning critical acclaim and electrifying live audiences. By 1986, Montano had taken soca to U.S. national television with an appearance on Star Search, and in 1987 he won the Caribbean Song Festival in Barbados at age 12, becoming the youngest and first Trinidadian to claim the title.
Through the 2000s, Montano cemented his dominance, collecting numerous honors from COTT, the International Soca Awards, and IRAWMA, including multiple Entertainer of the Year accolades. He also broke new ground internationally, becoming the first soca artiste to headline the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in 2010.
Montano’s competitive success peaked with multiple Power Soca Monarch and Road March victories, including his historic 2012 “Triple Crown” and a four-year Power Soca Monarch streak in 2014. His global recognition continued with Soul Train and GRAMMY nominations. In 2023, his career was crowned with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Caribbean Music Awards, affirming his status as the undisputed King of Soca.
