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Auxilia Katongomara Entertainment Reporter
ORGANISERS of Zimbabwe’s biggest talent search competition, StarBrite have introduced a registration fee for all participants this year.
The move is aimed at improving the quality of the show as well as getting serious people on the show.
The competition, which aims at identifying untapped talent has begun its registration process which will see those wishing to take part registering via the short message service (sms) and paying a registration fee of $5.
Director of the show, Barney Mpariwa said they were working on recruiting serious people in the competition hence the decision to make the contestants pay.
“We receive overwhelming entries during auditions only to realised that most of them are clowns who only want to waste our valuable time.
“This year, we are focusing on quality rather than quantity because we are working on nurturing artistes who are competent way after the show,” he said.
Mpariwa said the only way they could limit the number of people who enter the competition is to make them pay something to show seriousness.
Last year about 14,000 people registered to take part in the competition.
Mpariwa said they wanted to reach a wider audience hence the roping in of arts clubs in different parts of the country.
He said: “In Bulawayo we have partnered with Amakhosi Cultural Centre and other clubs in Masvingo and Kariba because it is one of the ways of reaching more people in their localities.”
The auditions would be held in all the provinces and open to only those who would have met the registration deadline.
Mpariwa said the competition had fabulous prizes to give away which include residential stands and motor vehicles.
Bulawayo’s own Magesh Tornadoes won best prize in dance, while Xolani Ndlovu, a cousin to football legend Peter Ndlovu, also got a recording contract with Tuku Music, a laptop, an Android phone and a residential stand in last year’s competition.
From the best to the worst aspiring artistes, StarBrite gives a chance to all showcasing talent in its raw form.
The competition is screened on Ztv after the provincial auditions.
StarBrite is an equivalent to America’s Got Talent and South Africa’s Got Talent.
Online Reporter