Invazion band leader Naya George wept on Sunday night as he interrupted a fete at Maska, La Romain, to announce the death of rising soca artiste Onika Bostic.
Visibly shocked by her death, George called for the 2005 Road March title to be bestowed, posthumously, on Bostic.
?I just pleading to T&T and all artistes to put their personal agendas aside and give her Road March,? said George, who won the title in 2002.
?She was moving from a show to a show when the accident happened, and we have to put her in the history books as the road march champ.?
Bostic?s All is Yours has been heating up the airwaves since its recent release.
Sunday?s Woman 3-Spanish Fever event, which began at 8 pm, with the group Soulful Harmony, was organised by Southside Events and featured artistes such as Dawg E Slaughter, Trini Jacobs and Imij and Co lead singer Kees Dieffenthaller.
George was in the midst of a spirited performance around 10 pm with his band and Faye Ann Lyons, last year?s Road March winner, when he was called backstage.
He returned a few seconds later, weeping uncontrollably, to share the sad news. A hush descended on the crowd, which only moments earlier were jamming to Invazion?s 2005 Carnival hits.
The music stopped and George called for a moment?s silence for the late singer.
?It is very hard for us to perform, but I know she would have wanted us to go on,? George said, even as Lyons rushed off the stage in tears, unable to complete her performance.
However, she returned a few minutes later and joined the other artistes who had gathered on stage to perform a special version of Bostic?s All Is Yours.
Denise ?Saucy Wow? Belfon, who was not scheduled to perform, also mounted the stage to pay tribute to her friend with a soulful gospel rendition, Troubles of the World.
Bostic died around 9 pm on Sunday at Port-of-Spain General Hospital from severe head and spine injuries she suffered in an accident a week before.
Dieffenthaller described her as an ?angel who was taken before her time,? and urged the public to value and appreciate life.
?It hit home, because all of us are on the road at nights. We all go from one gig to another and passing away while going to a show is like passing away on the battlefield for me,? Dieffenthaller said.
Belfon, leaning heavily on her father Peter Francois for support, called for all drivers to exercise caution on the roads.
?People need to take their time and be more conscious of what they are doing on the roads.
"When you driving, you not just driving for yourself; you are driving for everybody.
?I am not accustomed to losing a close friend. Onika will be really missed by us all.?
