Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Once upon a time, reality-based talent shows were only witnessed on foreign stations as youngsters showcased their voices to millions across the world.

In 2003, in stepped Digicel Rising Stars to change the landscape of the music industry and introducing a new way to achieve a quick, but solid 'buss' in the business.

Since then, shows such as Magnum Kings and Queens of the Dancehall, Dancin' Dynamites, Comedy Buss and others have also flourished. Six years after the initial production team for the STAR-sponsored Digicel Rising Stars travelled around the island scouting for the finest singing voices, the now ground-breaking show has only continued to get bigger and better. With a change in host from veteran Denise Hunt to beauty queen Yendi Phillipps, a change in venue from the smaller studio of TVJ to the more spacious Courtleigh Auditorium, and its first female winner Cameal Davis, Rising Stars has grown from strength to strength and still maintains a consistent fan base.

The show returned in the streets for its sixth season on April 18 with its first audition in Portmore, which was added as an audition site only last year. When The Sunday Gleaner spoke with the show's producer, Sharon Schroeter, she said all systems have been going well since the cameras began rolling for season six auditions.

"Auditions this year have been going really good. We have seen a lot of new faces and it seems that persons have finally begun to listen to the judges advice over the years choosing different songs. I don't know if someone found out that Anthony (Miller) loves old songs, but we've seen a lot of Frank Sinatra and John Holt songs," she said.

According to Schroeter, this year has seen many more females auditioning due to the well publicised win of Davis last year. Since the inception of the show, women have always been favoured as runners-up to the coveted title, but last year, fans seemed to go into an all-new direction voting the Denham Town-raised Davis to the top spot. Schroeter said, "Yeah, this year all the women are saying, 'no man can win Rising Stars again. It's women time'. A lot of them are following in Cameal's footsteps. She noted one trend that was declining.

"The only thing we haven't seen this year is a lot of groups. Montego Bay had the most. But there are more people auditioning especially in places like May Pen and Ochi."

This season, organisers are hoping to bring the production of the show to a whole new level with better technological developments including a more personal touch with more footage of the contestants' homes and lives before the show. Also, the makers are hoping to bring more celebrity judges on a weekly basis as well as more themes such as the gospel one which was popular last year. After the auditions, only 16 lucky finalists will see their berth into the studio finals, and benefit from experienced hands like Michael Harris and Michael Holgate, the Show's voice specialist and performance director.

While the show has produced such successes as winners Christopher Martin, Romain Virgo and Cameal Davis (who recently completed her video for To Believe) as well as contestants such as Laden, Schroeter sees even higher heights for the show.

"What I really want to see is for everyone who has passed through the show to be known on the local and international scene, for Rising Stars persons to be wining Grammys, BET awards, MTV awards and more."

The preview of Rising Stars airs May 23 with the audition shows commencing the following day. Live shows begin airing on TVJ on June 28.