Organizers say a record number of St. Maarten youths are booked for Saturday’s “Historic” 5th anniversary auditions for this year’s TelCell Breakthrough Talent Search.
So far a total of 70 performers of various ages and with various stage acts have registered to appear before a panel of judges at the Cultural Center, Backstreet, from 8:00 am Saturday morning.
With more performers expected to walk in off the street on the day of the auditions, the organizers, are predicting the final numbers will far exceed the number of youths who have auditioned for the show in previous years.
According to co-organizer, Angel Richardson, the heightened interest in this year’s auditions for the TelCell Breakthrough event should not be of any surprise considering it is the 5th year it is being held.
“Everyone is making an extra special effort to mark the 5th year and those entering the show are not different,” explained Angel.
She said due to the success of the past, young performers have booked early and have been practicing their various routines for many weeks in preparation for the first hurdle in their quest to be named TelCell Breakthrough winner 2017 in the finals of the show to be held at the Casino Royale, Maho, on September 30.
The other co-organizer of the upcoming auditions and finalists event is Mr. Bertaux “Mr. Rude” Fleming of Xtratight Entertainment.
Both “Mr. Rude” and Angel say they are looking forward to seeing and hearing what the youths have to offer this time around, noting also that the team of judges are also excited about their task of selecting participants for the finalist round.
As far as format goes nothing has changed for the auditions, except that the organizers are this year asking the performers to have their music or accompanying sounds available on a memory stick to make it easier and quicker to set up for their respective acts.
Youth between the ages of 14 and 22 are invited to audition, but exceptions can be made depending on age and exceptional talent.
The categories of performances are also wide open, however the auditions are once again expected to be dominated by the popular, Rap, dance, vocals and instrumental categories.
“We are always looking for new and exciting talent, so we will not turn anyone away who is good at what they do,” said Angel.
She said this year there has been a sharp rise in the number of instrumentalists auditioning, also the addition of new categories of Electronic Poi and Spoken Word.
Assuming all goes as scheduled and everyone is given their chance on stage, the judges are expected to have their list of finalists ready by 1:00 pm Saturday for an official announcement by the organizers.