Mirror

A star is born

Geeth Prasanna gets voted in as the very first Yes Superstar, Tahnee Hopman reports

In October 2009, 300 prospective superstars lined up in anticipation of a big break to stardom. One week ago, two talented and very different performers took the stage in a sing off for the ultimate prize.

Emotional performances won over a flair for entertaining, as Geeth Prasanna was voted in as the very first Yes Superstar and Shane Schuilling as a close runner up. The two nervous contestants no doubt did their talent justice at the vibrant grand finale- playing to their strengths and keeping things interesting with the occasional element of surprise.

The first surprise of the night came with Geeth’s energetic opening number, Audioslave’s "Be Yourself" . The performance shocked both judges and audience who had come to associate em otional, soulful numbers with the calm, collected young singer who hails from Gampola.

Surprises aside however, the performance displayed the singer’s versatility especially when followed shortly after, by his ‘trump card’ performance of Lionel Richie’s "Tender Heart".

Shane, as always at complete ease on stage, reveled in his passion for flair in the rock genre with Chad Kroeger’s "Hero" and a lively medley of Elvis Presley songs. His performances displayed a great deal of confidence and the singer connected well with his audience.

Favourites of the local music scene also took their place on stage with original performances. “This is the first time that we have had original performances by our guest artistes,” explained Yes FM DJ Shaq. “It is all part of a commitment by Yes FM and MBC towards uplifting the standard of English music in Sri Lanka in the near future.”

No doubt plans for the future of the English music industry will begin with Geeth and Shane who in the aftermath of their success are already dreaming big for the future.

At the moment of his victory an emotional Geeth declared that his fans would never regret their decision to vote for him, assuring them that he would make his country proud.

A week later, the promise still stands. “My wish now,” he says, “is to achieve my goals faster using this highway that MBC , MTV & YES FM have built for me and yes, to make my country proud of me.”

Describing his childhood as a lonely one, Geeth attended boarding school for five years, from the age of six. “it was during these years,” he recalls,”I was determined to prove to my parents that I was capable of achieving something that would make them proud of me.”

It was a few years later that singing would help him along on his dreams of success. “When I was twelve years old, my father insisted that I take violin lessons; and I found these very hard. But when it came to singing, I was always able to help my friends to pitch correctly.

It was at this point that I realized that I could make something of my singing and I surprised my teacher by getting through the exams in the vocal stream after two months of preparation."

Currently an engineering student in the field of Telecommunications and Electronics, Geeth counts the Yes Superstar experience as one which taught him that ,“you have to give of your best all the time.”

For Shane, the experience taught him something different and slightly unexpected. “I learnt a lot about people,” he says. “I learnt that they are not all that they appear. The experience also helped me to interact with people better and I feel that all this has changed me as an individual.”

One of the only contestants of the top twelve to have not had any formal training, Shane grew up dabbling more in cricket and swimming than in singing.

“I never sang in the school choir but I always loved music as did my friends. In our spare time between A’ Level classes, we would have ‘Class Idol Competitions on a fairly regular basis where we would have a lot of fun!” he laughs. “A few of us even formed a small band but that never worked out."petitio In the aftermath of the competition buzz, he says.

“We all started off on the journey with the aim of winning and put all our energy into the cause. However, at the end of it all I am extremely happy to have come this far.”

Geeth sums up the culmination of the exciting experience that has already had a large impact on the lives of the two finalists when he says, “It was just like being in the middle of a tornado, where you can do nothing but wait and see where it drops you.”

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