The latest winner of an annual soca competition has been crowned.

Reis VanPutten, popularly known as Ponaflex, captured the Quest for the Best competition for his song Come Out.

The grand prize promotional package — valued at more than $5,000 — includes international airplay, professional photo shoots, and music video production.

The competition was decided by a panel of eight local and eight international judges.

A three-way tie between Mr VanPutten and fellow artists Josiane Robinson, for Celebrate and Chinyere, for Go Low, was broken by voting by the public on social media. Russell Griffith, also known as DJ Rusty G, said this year’s competition had been the hardest to judge so far.

He added: “The immense support we received during the public voting process was overwhelming and is a true testament the growing interest for Bermudian soca music.”

Mr Griffith thanked sponsors Heineken and Digicel who helped cover recoding expenses for many of the competition participants.

Lovitta Foggo, the Minister of Labour, Community Affairs and Sport, said that this year’s competition shared the theme of Heritage Month to celebrate Bermudian Excellence.

She said: “Mr VanPutten’s musical talent a great example of the kind of excellence that is worthy of being recognised.”

Ms Foggo added: “He is a very engaging and inspiring young man and I cannot wait to see where this success takes him.”

She said that the Government was excited to have partnered once again with Mr Griffith for the competition.

Ms Foggo added: “The competition certainly helped foster increased creativity from Bermudian artists and an appreciation for local talent.

“We look forward to seeing how these very artistic Bermudian musicians continue in years to come.”

The competition has attracted 58 entires in its first three years.

Ponaflex’s Come Out can be streamed on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/ponaflex/come-out.