Entertainment

Rising Stars kick off second season

THE COMPETITION, THE memories, the anticipation and the excitement will all come rushing back to the minds of many Jamaicans across the island, as the very popular Rising Stars televised talent search series, returns for a second season.

The second season will be officially launched today at a media briefing, which will be held at the Courtleigh Auditorium, (formerly the Island Life Cinema), New Kingston.

Title sponsor of Rising Stars and local telecommunications giant, Digicel, says several important announcements will be made at the launch including the new associate sponsorship agreement with Pepsi-Cola Jamaica Limited.

"We are delighted to be associated once more with the development of Jamaican music through Rising Stars," said David Hall, CEO of Digicel Jamaica.

According to Hall, due to the tremendous success and support that last year's programme received, both from the Jamaican public and their customers, the programme this year rides in high anticipation of offering a bigger and better series.

Launched last year, Rising Stars captured the imagination and wide support of Jamaican television viewers across the island attracting an estimated one million television viewers per show in the final weeks of the three-month long series, which was aired on TVJ.

At the grand finale on August 13, Portland's Winston "Cavan" Lewis became Jamaica's first Rising Star taking home a recording contract with Gee Jam Records as well as J$1million dollars worth of call credit from Digicel.

Cavan's journey to success on the programme began when the judges in the Ocho Rios/Port Antonio audition finals selected him. Although the public voted him out of the initial round of the competition, Cavan, in an amazing twist of fate, was returned to Rising Stars by the judges after finalist Ana Strachan withdrew. The 21-year old singer and songwriter who worked as a shoe salesman in the Port Antonio Musgrave Market went on to consistently top the public's votes in almost every week after that. Cavan was eventually declared the winner of the series at the grand finale.

In addition to performing at the launch tomorrow, the producers disclosed that Cavan is expected to make an appearance at the Rising Stars audition scheduled for April 16 in his hometown of Port Antonio.