What message is Digicel sending?

EDITOR: What really is the objective of the Digicel Rising Star competition, besides making money? Is it a singing contest, a popularity contest or a simple sale?

In a singing competition the winners are expected to be superior not only in presentation but also in rendition, and this seems not to be the case in this competition.{{more}}

The reason I’m saying this is that during this year’s competition a young lady Tanya Clarke was head and shoulders above everyone else, in fact the final two competitors seemed not to have any answer to the repertoire within her arsenal. Tanya was not only versatile but she had quality of voice. Yet it seems as though she was beaten before the start, because after the rendition of her number “Time To Say Goodbye” which she bravely opted to do in Italian, a judge remarked that “it seemed she was having problems with her phrasing”. Then the judge admitted she didn’t know the song, and in fact she didn’t even know in which language it was sung. I couldn’t help but laugh. If she didn’t know the language how could she interpret the phrasing? Yet the same judge was more sympathetic with a competitor who sang a complete song totally out of key. Yes, I know you will tell me it is the public’s response which determines the winner, and that is another story in itself.

Now we hear that companies are collecting monies to vote for particular candidates. Where is this going really? Do you know what sort of damage this will do to talented young people such as the said lady? Instead of giving them a boost you will destroy their confidence.

It seems as though because the young lady does not possess the 36-24-36 as some would expect, the company may not see her as marketable, but don’t destroy good talent. Digicel, consider changing the format for the competition or people will begin to see it as just another gimmick to sell phone cards.

Music Fan