CBA choir winner of the Secondary Choir Competition, with their choir director Natisha Hanson and School Director Silveria Jacobs.
PHILIPSBURG--Kimore Smith of the Charlotte Brookson Academy (CBA) for the Performing Arts won the 2026 Secondary Schools Solo Competition, while the Marie Genevieve de Weever School and the Charlotte Brookson Academy choir captured top honours in the Primary and Secondary Choir Competitions during the 11th Annual St. Martin Interscholastic Idols Singing Competition held over the weekend.
Primary School choir winners the Marie Genevieve de Weever primary school with Choir director Omar Hunter.
The annual event, hosted by the St. Martin Promoting Young Ambassadors Foundation, featured three competitions in one evening and highlighted the musical talent, creativity and stage presence of young performers from across the island.
In the Secondary Schools Solo Competition, Derek Jesus Varela Medrano of Milton Peters College (MPC) secured the second runner-up position with Whitney Houston’s “Run to You.” Mariangel Barraez Vasquez of St. Maarten Academy earned first runner-up with Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.” The Foundation noted that Vasquez was also the winner of the 2025 Primary Cycle 2 competition.
Smith captured the top title with her rendition of Melanie Fiona’s “It Kills Me”.
The Primary Schools Choir Competition featured performances from the Marie Genevieve de Weever School, Leonard Conner School, Seventh-day Adventist School and Learning Unlimited Preparatory School.
Leonard Conner School placed second runner-up with “Let It Be”, while the Seventh-day Adventist School earned first runner-up with its “We Come to Praise Medley”. Participating for the first time, the Marie Genevieve de Weever School won the competition with its “Praise Medley”.
In the Secondary Schools Choir Competition, the Methodist Agogic Center CSE School placed second runner-up with a medley of “Man in the Mirror” and “Jireh”. Learning Unlimited (LU) Preparatory School earned first runner-up with “A Million Dreams”.
CBA choir, also participating for the first time, won the competition with its rendition of “You Say”.
The evening concluded with a surprise performance by Raheem Atkinson, better known as “Tension”, winner of the second annual St. Martin Interscholastic Idols competition in 2011. Performing alongside Daddy Keys and the Skillful Band, Tension entertained the crowd with the 2026 Road March hit “Screw in the Thing”, prompting students, parents and supporters to sing and dance along.
The Foundation thanked Tension, Daddy Keys and the Skillful Band for returning to inspire young performers and demonstrate how participation in the competition can help launch artistic careers.
President of the St. Martin Promoting Young Ambassadors Foundation, Angelique Romou, also thanked 2025 Secondary Solo winner Aalison Victorine of CBA for her guest performance and praised all participants for their performances throughout the evening.
“This year’s competition truly continued to showcase the incredible talent that exists within our young people of St. Maarten. Patrons were able to experience three amazing competitions in one evening and witness St. Maarten’s talent at its very best. We are extremely proud of all participants who took the stage with courage, passion, and excellence,” Romou stated.
The Foundation also thanked the panel of judges, sponsors, media partners, volunteers, principals, teachers, choir directors, parents and supporters who contributed to the success of the event.
The foundation is encouraging the public to save the date for the 12th Annual St. Martin Interscholastic Idols Competition, tentatively scheduled for February 20-21, 2027.
