"Digicel Rising Stars" Surprising exit as JL and T"Rizzy thrill

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Sunday night saw the surprising exit of Sarai-Lee from the ‘Digicel Rising Stars’ competition, while JL and T’Rizzy went on to entertain the audience with three songs each.

It came as quite the shocker when Sarai-Lee was announced as the third-place contestant at the event that was held at TVJ studios on Lyndhurst Road in St Andrew. The young singer was expected to be one of the top-two contestants, but instead she had to settle for the runner-up spot, which saw her walking away with $400,000.

Following the announcement, the judges encouraged her to do voice training and return to school.

From then on, it was T’Rizzy against JL, with both bringing different styles to the table. For all three songs, T’Rizzy went old school, doing songs like Sam Cooke’s Cupid, Johnny Gill’s My My My and Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s Island In The Stream.

Pitch issues

The performances were generally well received, but there were complaints of pitch issues for some parts of the songs. While he got mostly good reviews, judge Anthony Miller said he wished T’Rizzy had done more recent songs.

“I think that duet (with Quani) worked. I just think you could show more range. I think you need to sing something more contemporary to get the younger voters on your side,” he said.

JL, on the other hand, brought loads of contemporary songs with Tarrus Riley’s Love Contagious, Chronixx’s Here Comes Trouble and a medley of dancehall songs. Although he was criticised for having what the judges say is an ordinary voice, he was lauded for his creativity and ability to command the stage.

Collaborative effort

But of all the performances, the audience and judges seemed to enjoy his collaborative effort with Young Kings as they did a medley of uptempo dancehall songs like Sufferer, No Letting Go, Overcome and Meet Me At The Party.

“You are a fighter; you never give up. Tonight you gave us a performance,” judge Denyque said.

Miller added, “A nice high-energy end to the evening. The problem is that Shamar (Young Kings) overshadowed you. I wish I could just put your performance in a microwave and heat it up.”

The show ended with a performance from guest judge Jah Cure.

View the original article here

"Digicel Rising Stars" Surprising exit as JL and T"Rizzy thrill

"Digicel Rising Stars" Surprising exit as JL and T"Rizzy thrill

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

Sunday night saw the surprising exit of Sarai-Lee from the ‘Digicel Rising Stars’ competition, while JL and T’Rizzy went on to entertain the audience with three songs each.

It came as quite the shocker when Sarai-Lee was announced as the third-place contestant at the event that was held at TVJ studios on Lyndhurst Road in St Andrew. The young singer was expected to be one of the top-two contestants, but instead she had to settle for the runner-up spot, which saw her walking away with $400,000.

Following the announcement, the judges encouraged her to do voice training and return to school.

From then on, it was T’Rizzy against JL, with both bringing different styles to the table. For all three songs, T’Rizzy went old school, doing songs like Sam Cooke’s Cupid, Johnny Gill’s My My My and Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s Island In The Stream.

Pitch issues

The performances were generally well received, but there were complaints of pitch issues for some parts of the songs. While he got mostly good reviews, judge Anthony Miller said he wished T’Rizzy had done more recent songs.

“I think that duet (with Quani) worked. I just think you could show more range. I think you need to sing something more contemporary to get the younger voters on your side,” he said.

JL, on the other hand, brought loads of contemporary songs with Tarrus Riley’s Love Contagious, Chronixx’s Here Comes Trouble and a medley of dancehall songs. Although he was criticised for having what the judges say is an ordinary voice, he was lauded for his creativity and ability to command the stage.

Collaborative effort

But of all the performances, the audience and judges seemed to enjoy his collaborative effort with Young Kings as they did a medley of uptempo dancehall songs like Sufferer, No Letting Go, Overcome and Meet Me At The Party.

“You are a fighter; you never give up. Tonight you gave us a performance,” judge Denyque said.

Miller added, “A nice high-energy end to the evening. The problem is that Shamar (Young Kings) overshadowed you. I wish I could just put your performance in a microwave and heat it up.”

The show ended with a performance from guest judge Jah Cure.

View the original article here

"Digicel Rising Stars" Surprising exit as JL and T"Rizzy thrill

Caribean beaches disappearing due to rising sea levels, storms – World Bank

Rising sea levels (Credit: Caribbean360 / Bigstock)

WASHINGTON D.C., United States, Monday September 8, 2014, CMC – The World Bank says due to rising sea levels and recurring storms, the beaches in most Caribbean nations have started to disappear.

In a new report, the Washington-based financial institution said, in some areas of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for instance, an estimated 18-30 meters of beach have been lost over the last nine years.

“The highly vulnerable coastal strand and adjacent towns are fighting against increased flood risk from rainfall and storm surge,” said the bank, noting that the issue of challenges faced by small islands around the world was at the center of the just-concluded Third Small Island Developing States (SIDS) conference in Samoa.

The bank said the theme of the conference was sustainable development in view of these states’ unique and particular vulnerabilities.

The World Bank said beaches are not the only concern, stating that Caribbean ports are also at risk from rising sea levels.

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“In island states, ports are the economic heart of the country, typically the capital and the island center of commerce,” said the bank, adding that airports are also affected.

To improve the Caribbean’s ability to resist and adapt to the effects of climate change, the World Bank has made some recommendations.

With the poor and vulnerable being most affected by a global sea level rise, the bank urged that land planning be incorporated more into social programs to tackle how exposed people are to risk.

It also recommended the implementation of a preventive system needs to establish an economic recovery and diversification plan following a disaster, as well as increased investment in scientific data collection and flood controls.

The other recommendations include land planning and watershed management.

View the original article here

Caribean beaches disappearing due to rising sea levels, storms – World Bank

Digicel Rising Stars contestants deliver mediocre performances

Sadeke Brooks, Staff Reporter

T Rizzy

For Sunday’s staging of Digicel Rising Stars, it was more of the same, with judges mostly commenting on the song choices of the 10 contestants.

The first contestant to feel the wrath of the judges at the live show which was held at the TVJ studio in St Andrew was Quani. The judges were certainly left unimpressed after her rendition of Give Your Heart A Break.

“I think you are cute, but that’s about it. Choose something that all of Jamaica wants to hear,” Anthony Miller said.

T Rizzy and Sarai-Lee Moodie were not particularly impressive, but the judges said they saw signs of improvement.

The smooth-singing Lionel Williams was also better this time around with Lost Without You. Judge Conroy Wilson thought his falsetto performance was decent, but somewhat sedated. But Travis Brown left the judges a bit confused. Despite what they agreed was a good song choice, the judges were not very keen on Travis’ arrangement of the song.

While Miller thought Asharie Maye was merely pretending to play the guitar, judge Alaine said, “good song choice, but I want you to light up the stage more.”

Kyann Knight sang Perfect, but while she was not necessarily perfect, she got passing marks from all the judges. “I liked the song and I liked your performance of it,” Wilson said, while commending her for commanding the stage.

Later, one of the better performances for the night came from Garnett Ferguson with Stay With Me.

“That was a good performance, but I don’t think it made anybody rise up and shout, and that’s where you need to get,” Alaine said.

Avia Welsh was the second-to-last performer, but Miller believed it was difficult to comment on her performance of Darkhorse because the song was extremely short. Luckily, she was liked by the other judges.

And despite rave reviews for their previous performance, Young Kings did not move the judges as much as they would have liked. Miller regarded their granny-inspired song and routine as “corny and boring”, while Alaine and Wilson thought they lacked clarity.

View the original article here

Digicel Rising Stars contestants deliver mediocre performances

Craigy T"s schedule pulls him from Rising Stars

Craigy T (right), Alaine and Anthony Miller share lens space during a recent Digicel Rising Stars audition. – Contributed

Digicel Rising Stars has announced that Craigy T will no longer be able to fulfil his responsibilities as judge due to his hectic summer schedule with TOK.

Though he was able to start Season 11 with the five islandwide auditions through May-June, Craigy T’s summer obligations with his internationally acclaimed group now requires him to travel more than he originally expected.

“Yeah, I’m kinda bummed about not being able to finish the season, I love working with new talent. However, it just couldn’t be avoided. With my schedule, coupled with TOK’s calendar, I would miss about 10 of the 12 live performance shows. That wouldn’t make sense. So it go. All things considered, I’m looking forward to seeing you all again next year,” Craigy T said.

DRS producer Sharon Schroeter says the team is disappointed but understands: “We will definitely miss Craig this season, but we understand completely.”

The Digicel Rising Stars producers have decided to invite weekly guest judges to replace Craigy T for Season 11. Live shows for Season 11 began yesterday on TVJ with the first seven of the top 14 chosen from auditions.

View the original article here

Craigy T"s schedule pulls him from Rising Stars

Alaine to judge on digicel rising stars

Alaine is flanked by DRS judges Anthony Miller (left) and Craigy T. – Contributed

“Season 11 of Digicel Rising Stars is must-see TV”, says songstress Alaine, who recently joined the judging panel.

The singer, who was a guest judge and performer last year, was called to be on the official panel and welcomed it with open arms, “I had a blast last year and, therefore, I was really excited when I was asked to be an official judge for this season”.

The energetic Dreaming Of You vocalist insists you can’t miss a beat for Season 11. “Now, I am part of the entire process from the auditions straight through to the final show. So, I am much more invested and look forward to the entire journey. Stay tuned,” she said.

Digicel Rising Stars, which has a rich legacy in unearthing local persons with talent and bringing them to the national stage, sought to ensure that only the best of the best are a part of the judging panel and adding another international artiste to the mix wouldn’t hurt. TOK member Craigy T and journalist and award-winning producer Anthony Miller may butt heads with the new judge this season, and you won’t want to miss it.

“I enjoy being a judge, I try to be the kind of judge I’d like to appear before, that is, considerate, honest and fair. Craigy T is great, Anthony, not so much, just kidding. We all have very different approaches and I don’t think any one of them is necessarily right or wrong,” she aded.

The live shows are set to begin on Sunday.

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Alaine to judge on digicel rising stars

UN hears rising concerns on Haiti’s election delay

Latest News

Wednesday, August 28, 2013 | 2:50 PM

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The UN Security Council heard Wednesday about rising discord in Haiti over long-delayed national elections, which were expected in 2011 but may not take place even this year.Political infighting among the government’s branches has held up the vote. An electoral council responsible for overseeing the elections wasn’t formed until April, and it still needs to approve a calendar for voting that will be largely financed by foreign governments.“These delays have led a number of political and civil society actors to express skepticism concerning the likelihood that elections will be held in 2013,” the UN special representative for Haiti, Sandra Honore, told the council.The election is needed to fill one-third of Haiti’s 30-member Senate and dozens of local posts. In the absence of a vote, some 130 elected municipal officials have been replaced with appointees chosen by President Michel Martelly.Honore said delays in submission of a draft electoral law “have fueled speculation among the legislators that the executive was intentionally delaying the process to ensure that Parliament becomes non-functional.”A group of the main opposition parties has been calling on Martelly “to uphold the constitutional requirement of timely elections, or else resign,” she said.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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UN hears rising concerns on Haiti’s election delay

Mullings a rising star

Sport

…Young squash player takes plaudits in strideS MyersMonday, July 22, 2013

TO be the finest in the land at only 14 years old is no small feat. Yet female squash sensation Alyssa Mullings handles the acclamation as effortlessly as she wields the racquet on-court.The long-limbed Mullings made history this year when she became the youngest individual to win the national senior female squash title.“I am not really surprised because I was training very hard and knew the people I was going to go up against,” she said regarding the phenomenal achievement.Apparently a bit of parental guidance came in handy.“My father gave me the hard work [to prepare] according to each person’s game and just got me ready for the Championships, and I’m happy I did well,” continued the teenager in a concise, but clear style.Previously, she had sliced her way through the local junior ranks and proved herself head and shoulders above her contemporaries.Mullings, a student at Bishop Gibson High in Manchester who begins fifth form in September, is also a juggernaut in the region.She is tipped to successfully defend her Under-15 Girls’ title at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Championships, which commences today in Trinidad & Tobago.Such is her prowess that Jamaica’s coach Rene Denis — a man unlikely to be challenged as a bonafide judge of squash talent — labelled the player as “the powerhouse of the Caribbean”.The buoyant Mullings, who turns 15 next month, is certainly keen on staying at the crest of the wave — particularly because of her recent successes.“It makes me a little more confident knowing that I won the senior title. It makes me feel a little better knowing that I have done well and I can continue to do well. It makes me a little less nervous.“I’m really going there to defend my title and to make my family and my country proud,” she told the Jamaica Observer.But the urge to maintain camaraderie and good-fellowship with her Caribbean rivals is one she does not hide.“I’m also looking to meet my friends from countries like Guyana and Barbados,” she added in a blissful tone.MULLINGS… is tipped to successfully defend her Under-15 Girls’ title

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Mullings a rising star