May 14th 2011
Stars Will Be Born

“A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.” When presented with an opportunity one person may utilize or grab it while another may pay no attention to it or feel indifferent to it. Those who grab it are put on the fast track to success while those who ignore it stay where they are on regress. Most individuals do not pay attention or they do not realize the importance of opportunities. They respond to opportunity in a lethargic manner over a prolonged of time.

These finalists Antricia King a.k.a. FRAGILE, Merlika Octave, Keril Victor, Shan Lucien, Kenson Montoute a.k.a. KENO, Akeem Anderson a.k.a. WONDERBOY, Kimbally Gedeon, Jervai Antoine a.k.a.SOYAH, Roxie Francis a.k.a. IMNET, Irvine Hippolyte a.k.a DREAD I (dread eye), Jarron Alexander a.k.a BLACK KRAYON and Nathan Dolcy a.k.a. JEZZREEL (Just real) saw an opportunity of a life time and they have grabbed on to it.

What is that opportunity? Starklass. A singing competition much like American Idol, only it is done here in St. Lucia. The singing competition produced by the founder, Joseph Jeff Nolly. Joseph who is popularly known as Jeff is a St. Lucian born musician, vocalist, songwriter, artiste manager and producer. After living many years in French Guyana (Cayenne) he established StarKlass as an annual competition. He now resides in Paris, France.
Mr. Nolly has brought Starklass to St. Lucia as it affords wonderful opportunities to young people in the age bracket of 13 – 26 years of age. It is a competition open to St. Lucians island wide in all genres of music. The contestants were all asked to sing two songs of their choice, one acappella and one on tracks. This allowed the judges to be exposed to the singers’ vocal ranges, expression, and tone amongst other points on the criteria.

The winner of the competition will be awarded a recording contract with a first class studio in Martinique for a 10 track album and two video recordings. The second, third, fourth and fifth winners will be awarded a single track recording with a top recording studio in St. Lucia. There will also be opportunities to perform in the French territories of Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guyana (Cayenne) and France for the winner.
The main aims of this show are to give back to St. Lucia, by providing an opportunity for the youth to get their music recorded and to be distributed locally, regionally and in turn, gain international recognition. It will also expose local artistes and their talent to the public thus sensitizing the public to the talent available in St. Lucia and create an avenue for scouts to discover novice performers. The competition will also boost self-confidence among budding musicians as well as improve the vocal and performance skills of the youth and create an alliance among various youthful artistes of varying genres which in turn will help develop and build one another.

There are 12 finalists vying for the grand prize which is a recording contract in Martinique to record ten (10) tracks and two (2) music videos and to get exposure in the French countries as well as local recognition. Second, third, fourth and fifth place will record one track with a local producer.

In the past few years Jeff Nolly has been spending his time travelling between Martinique, St. Lucia and French Guyana (Cayenne) mainly discovering young budding artistes and developing them to the stage of recording in some of the finest French Studios and promoting their music and putting them in shows in the French territories. Some of the artistes he has worked with include Claudia Edwards, Lady V, Yardie, Four the Hard Way and Sensitive who is doing very well in Paris.

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