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Seven years at the top - Rising Stars continues to do well

Published:Sunday | August 29, 2010 | 12:00 AM
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From left: Kay Osborne, general manager of Television Jamaica, Mark Linehan, CEO of Digicel Jamaica, and Sharon Schroeter, producer of Digicel Rising Stars, are all smiles as they pose with the television programme's Gleaner Honour Award for excellence in entertainment. - Rudolph Brown/Photographer
Although seated, Camaley gives a very convincing performance. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
Nekorah Phillips ended the night on a high note, getting a standing ovation from sections of the audience.
Jermaine Michaels started the show with a passionate reddition of 'Hold My Hands'.
Toni Blair tried hard to win the crowd's favour.
Dalton Harris was not his best this week but he still pleased the audience
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Top Five head to Gleaner

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

It has been with a lot of tears, smiles, laughter, hair-raising performances and a top-notch production that Digicel Rising Stars has stayed on top of its game for seven seasons and counting.

Little over seven years ago, Michael Hogan, executive producer for the show, brought the idea for a live reality music show to Jamaican audiences.

Starting off at the offices of TVJ, the show instantly garnered attention from fans who laughed at the 'wannabe' singers, got inspired by the belting voices of those who could sing, and soon had persons voting from across the island for their favourites.

Prior to the show there was the Tastee Talent Search, which is still running, and the now-defunct Star Search at Traxx talent competition, which ran on CVM TV.

Since then, other shows such as Red Label Wine Dancin' Dynamites, Comedy Buss and Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall have come to the fore, but none has made the impact Rising Stars has.

For Sharon Schroeter, series producer, who has been with the show since it began, it has been a long and fruitful journey with more success to come.

According to Schroeter, viewership is still as high as ever.

"TVJ did a survey and Rising Stars is one of the reasons TVJ remains on top of the market. We're watched by at least 50 per cent of the televised population, I believe," Schroeter told The Sunday Gleaner.

popular tv show

According to a previous article in The Gleaner, Kay Osborne, TVJ's general manager, pointed out that Rising Stars and All Together Sing, the school choir competition, were the station's two most popular entertainment programmes.

The Jamaican leg of the Rising Stars competition can be viewed in New York and in other Caribbean countries. There is also a Rising Stars competition in Haiti and in Trinidad. Schroeter is hoping for a Pan-Caribbean Rising Stars.

The show is now aired from the Courtleigh Auditorium and has moved from an hour-long programme to 90 minutes. Persons can also vote until 4 p.m. every Sunday, whereas voting used to end on Friday. The hosts have also changed, with Denise Hunt giving way to Yendi Phillipps, before Lady Renae was given the nod to become this season's host. The chill room host was Kiki. That has also changed with Pepita Little taking over the reins.

But the talent and reality aspects of the show are still the same. Schroeter said, "We're definitely exploring new ways to bring out the contestants and bring a more reality feel to the show.

"We showed we can have a first-class production in a third-world country. Our standard is higher than anything on local TV, we've never settled for less, we want to be number one all the time," she added.

Schroeter still remembers the 2005 live show she tried to have at Emancipation Park, an event that pointed to the trememndous potential of the show.

"We really expected like 4,000 people and we ended up with 50,000 people trying to get in, we had to call off the show 'cause we couldn't control it and we had the finals the next week at TVJ," she  explained.

Christopher Martin took the win that year after a close competition with singer Noddy Virtue.

This season has kicked off with interesting moments and the top-five finalists will be showing off their talent on September 4 at The Gleaner. THE STAR will be hosting a live Rising Stars concert at The Gleaner's parking lot, 7 North Street. The show, which will begin at 4 p.m., will feature the Top 5 Rising Stars contestants along with some of the past competitors such as Natel, Cameal Davis and Brown Suga.

There will also be special guest artistes such as I-Octane, Khago and Wasp. Music will be provided by Coppershot, DJ Liquid and Boom Boom. Emcee will be Kool 97's Jody-Ann Grey. To be admitted, bring copies of all THE STAR newspapers from August 30 to September 3.

Rising Stars winners

  1. 2004 - Cavan
  2. 2005 - Christopher Martin
  3. 2006 - One Third
  4. 2007 - Romain Virgo
  5. 2008 - Cameal Davis
  6. 2009 - Brown Suga.