BY NAGRA PLUNKETT, Staff Reporter
Popular Montego Bay-based personality Robert 'Changa Changa' Young deejays No Guns Bout Ya on Day One of Digicel's Rising Star Montego Bay auditions at Pier One in Montego Bay on Saturday. - NOEL THOMPSON
WESTERN BUREAU
MORE THAN 500 entrants from across the island converged on the Pier One venue in Montego Bay on Saturday to audition for a spot in the locally-televised talent series, Digicel Rising Stars.
At the end of the process, which ended on Sunday afternoon, 10 acts were chosen to go on to the next phase of the popular production, which is in its third season.
"If this is any indication for this year, we are off to a cracking start. I remember Montego Bay last year and it wasn't that good," commented Rising Star judge, Anthony Miller, who has earned the reputation of being a caustic critic.
"There were lots of eager young faces and a variety of deliveries and musical styles, among which were dub poets," said Miller.
The first round of auditions were conducted under the competent direction of multiple National Festival Song Winner Roy Rayon and music educator, David Wedderburn.
The two had the daunting task of sifting through the hundreds of entrants to pinpoint the most impressive of the talents for their return on Sunday. They would face the scrutinising comments, criticisms and recommendations of resident judges Miller, Nadine Sutherland and Clyde McKenzie.
At the end of day one, 105 acts were given call backs in the form of the coveted "white strip of paper".
"There were very little amount of talents that impressed me. I could see with some people raw talents, meaning no formal training but that was good," Mr. Wedderburn commented during Saturday's preliminaries.
The 2006 winner of Digicel Rising Stars will receive a management contract with Shocking Vibes Productions limited and a cash prize of $1 million. The first runner-up and second runner-up will receive prize money of $600,000 and $400,000 respectively.
Auditions continue on April 22 at Fayors Entertainment Centre in Mandeville.
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