With the sun in all its glory, 298 acts registered and waited for their opportunity to shine for the preliminary judges under a tent pitched on school's lawn.

The registration process started at 7 a.m. and finished at 3 p.m., but some hopefuls arrived as early as 5 a.m.

Outside was hot, but inside the school's music room, where the auditions took place, was scorching.

The judges had a mammoth task on their hands as they had to sit through the auditions from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with only an hour for lunch. The task was even more daunting as not all the talents were exceptional and only a mere 75 were given a call back for Sunday when they are expected to bring their 'A' game.

However, one of the preliminary judges, David Wedderburn, expressed some level of optimism although some contestants obviously lacked preparation.

"Some portions were well prepared and had good singing voices and some people had voice training but they did not do stage work. Most of what we see today are diamonds in the rough," he said.

Adding, "After they are exposed to the other judges and get a chance to hone and develop their stage skills, they will be well-oiled machines in a couple weeks from now."

The other preliminary judge, Roy Rayon, was impressed with the ladies as they came dressed to impress. However, he still believes that some people did not come prepared with their material.

"What I think still happens is that some people don't take it seriously. So it is for them to come and deliver tomorrow. Those who don't go through today will end up at the other five auditions," he said while noting that they should be able to find a good 10 contestants from the St Thomas leg.

Nonetheless, one of the biggest stars for the day was the new host for the competition, Yendi Phillipps. She was a big hit with the contestants, some who wrote songs and spoke about her beauty and grace while others were just excited to meet her.