Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Calling in the votes
By Ishani Ranasinghe
The preliminary rounds have finally come to an end. The auditions are done away with and the call backs have taken place.

With the preliminary rounds for YES FM Radio Superstar being held in four cities, Colombo, Galle, Kandy and Negombo, the auditions drew in a large number of hopefuls all of them vying for the spot on the first round, where 30 contestants will be competing to make it.

The judges have spent hours reviewing the tapes and trying to figure out who should be eligible to go into the next round… and the final 30 has been decided. The final 30 will now perform in front of a panel of judges with a backing track to qualify for the next round, where thereafter it will be the public who will be voting. This week Mignone Fernando, one of the judges, shares her insights on the judging process of YES FM Radio Super Star 2005.

Having seen an immense amount of talent being displayed, Ms. Fernando says that she heard some interesting voices that were very good. “It’s really encouraging to see new artistes of this nature. There was a lot of potential on display.”

Narrowing it down to just thirty contestants after sifting through a large number is definitely no easy task. “We gave it a thorough going-over.” Explaining a bit about how the whole thing worked, she adds that it’s the marks of the three judges that was tabulated to choose the thirty going into the first round. “The choice of song one makes does have an effect on the outcome of the song,” she says, adding that the decision was made according to categories that looked upon voice and the overall performance of an artiste.

“I am quite happy with the choice and it’s sad that most people missed it by one mark,” she says, adding that there is nothing that can be done, because after all that’s how things work in talent competitions.

What’s good about this competition is that even though you might not win, it provides these artistes a chance to be heard. They get exposure, “and most importantly their music reaches the listening audience.” Not something that really happens usually… at least not for everyone.

YES FM Radio Super Star is a competition that is unique here in Sri Lanka. As for the listeners deciding who the winner should be… “I think it’s up to the public to support the good artistes.”

In her opinion she feels that a percentage of the votes should be based on the judges’ views, giving the contestants a fairer contest and avoid it being more of a popularity contest. But since this is the concept this competition is working on, she says, “Now that we have chosen the grapes from the vine, it’s up to the listeners to savour it.”

The time for listeners to come in is approaching, since once the second round begins with the fifteen chosen contestants, it will be your turn to vote. It will be up to you to decide who the next YES FM Radio Super Star shall be…

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