Roxroy McLean, Star Writer

Digicel Rising Star season five is turning out to be a very attractive competition.

Last week's live performance show saw the first-ever guest performer on the show, Reggae Gospel artiste Goddy Goddy, delivering a very entertaining piece.

Well, come this Sunday, the competition will have a live music band to back the contestants.

For five years, the competition has been richly blessed with great performances by the contestants, who on a weekly basis have belted out their voices, while entertaining the audiences.

According to Sharon Shroeter, series producer of the talent show, the idea to have a live band had always been in mind, but couldn't happen given the space provided at TVJ studios.

"It's our fifth anniversary and it's something that we have always wanted to do, but we never had the space inside the TVJ studio," Shroeter said.

"But since moving to the Courtleigh Auditorium we have more space, where we can be more dynamic and, of course, to provide a more entertaining show for the audience," she added.

Shroeter says the contestants now have the luxury of a live band, which is set to complement the performances of the contestants, and mostly to enhance the quality of the competition.

"It's a positive change for them, it will now give them the opportunity to work with a band, which makes the performances much better," she said.

Also, she said, the competition has had interesting features over the five-year period, and the idea will improve the entertainment package that the competition offers.

"It will add to everything else that we've already done, especially this year. When you look at last week's show with 'Gospel night', we introduced the back-up singers, so it just add to everything, and to make it bigger and better, which is our aim," Shroeter said.

"Also one other reason we decided to use the band is because most entertainers are now using tracks, so this is our way of rejuvenating live music in Jamaica," she said.

The band is a mixture of students from School Of Music and Edna Manley College for The Visual and Performing Arts, and Shroeter says, hopefully, the idea will continue into next season's show.

The Digicel Rising Stars competition live performance show continues on Sunday, with six contestants left to compete for the top prize.

Scenes from The Digicel Rising Stars performance show held at the Courtleigh auditorium on Sunday.