23 make it into Star Brite boot camp

By Brenda Phiri

Twenty-three finalists from all parts of Zimbabwe went into camp at Ochi City Safaris last week as the curtain comes down on this year’s edition of national talent show – Star Brite. There are 10 singers, three dance groups and two poets taking part in the finale.

“We put the finalists into boot camp before the grand finale because we wanted to monitor the contestants’ creativity on given assignments. On different days we gave them set pieces to work on. Since they are out of their comfort zones, it is easy to ensure they are not getting outside help making it easier to select the best,” said executive director Barney Mpariwa.

Various themes for each night’s performances included a “60s Night” where contestants fused modern songs with those from the 1960s. The other was based on given phrases for songs and contestants had 48 hours to come up with ideas.

Fans that missed out on the action will get a chance to revisit the journey from scenes that will be screened on the local television. This opportunity will also allow viewers to vote for their favourite participants.

“The voting platform has since been opened and viewers have been voting for their favourite contestants. Voting will continue and scenes will be screened from the time we opened the show a few months ago,” he said.

Mpariwa, however, said they were not accepting votes sent through social media.

“At least 60 percent of the marks are going to be based on the judges’ decision while the remaining 40 percent will be based on viewers’ votes. This year, we will only accept votes sent through the text messaging platform and not Facebook or any other social media,” he said.

The victorious contestants will be announced three weeks after the television screening. The Herald