Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Decked out in a football-inspired costume, this contestant tries to impress the judges. - Photos by Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

It was a hot, long and tedious day at the Digicel Rising Stars first audition at Paul Bogle High School in St Thomas, on Saturday.

With the sun in all its glory, 298 acts registered and waited for their opportunity to shine for the preliminary judges under a tent pitched on the school's lawn.

The registration process started at 7:00 a.m. and finished at 3:00 p.m., but some eager hopefuls arrived as early as 5:00 a.m.

Contestants were diverse and ranged from the very young to the very old. Some were drawn from various professions, including teaching and law enforcement.

Lots of characters

As was expected, the characters were out in droves. There was a Michael Jackson impersonator, cowboys, boys in uniforms and divas. Some dressed in black drew much attention and heat, but maybe this was all part of the 'star' quality they were trying to show off.

The audition was held in the school's music room. The judges had a mammoth task on their hands as they had to sit through the auditions from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with only an hour for lunch.

The task was even more daunting as not all the talents were exceptional and only a mere 75 were given a call-back for yesterday when they were expected to bring their 'A' game.

Criticising the judges

Some contestants were disappointed when they only got a few seconds to show off their talent after practising for hours before they had to perform. Once outside, some rejects spared no punches in criticising the judges for not recognising obvious talent. Many behaved like celebrities when they went outside to a cheering audience that had been watching their live performance on a screen.

Throughout the day, several diamonds in the rough emerged, thereby giving the judges some hope.

The biggest star for the day, however, was the new host of the competition, former Miss Jamaica Yendi Phillipps, who did well interacting with those present.

Fans came to support family and friends auditioning for a spot in the Digicel Rising Stars competition.