It’s now down to two and everyone is guessing and wagering who will win the big prize of over a million dollars and a record deal in the Digicel Rising Stars 2008 competition. The competition for the top position as Digicel Risings Star 2008 has been intense with numerous twists and turns. At the beginning of the 2008 Digicel Rising Stars season there were jitters as to whether this season will be as successful as previous seasons. With the end of the season just days away, it is clear that Digicel Rising Stars 2008 has been one of the best seasons in the five-year history of the show.
Essential to this reality are two exceptional talents in the form of Kahlil and Cameal Davis. These two contestants have almost equally divided the sentiments of the voting public and no one can now predict who will win the competition.
Unlike Kahlil who started with a flurry, Cameal Davis has been a work in progress growing consistently week by week exposing her talent and winning over the fans. Encompassing all the passion that one woman can hold, Cameal belts out heart rending melodies that at times bring tears to the eyes. Indeed it was Anthony ‘Killer’ Miller who posited on August 24: “I can’t help but like Cameal every week she grows.”
Judge Miller is not the only judge to have noticed this phenomena as Nadine ceded on August 24: “I can’t even find words, you’re beautiful.”
From relative obscurity at the beginning of the competition Cameal now stands in the way of Kahlil who were initially poised to take the title.
Despite Cameal’s growth in the last few weeks Kahlil is still the favourite to win the competition. Kahlil began their quest to win the Digicel Rising Stars 2008 competition by blowing away the crowd and their competition of August 4 with their rendition of the Jefferson’s Movin On Up and Will Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This performance was so amazing that Nadine considered it to be “…one of the best performances I have seen in my five years judging this competition”, even the usually sceptical Anthony could not hide his satisfaction exclaiming: “These guys are the real deal!”
Life has not been smooth sailing for the quintet however; as they have not always delivered to the standard they set on August 4. Killer Miller again was on point when he said on August 31: “For the first time you were not the best”.
This signalled the start of the real competition as all the other competitors including SLR had stepped up their game. It was at the September 14 live show that fans began to notice that the diamond in the ruff, the Denham town princess Cameal Davis, could change history by being the first female to win the competition, prompting Clive to say: “Things could change.”
Despite the fact that at the final performance show on September 28 Cameal Davis received two standing ovations, many of her fans are still wondering whether her golden voice can indeed win her the title of Digicel Rising Star 2008. The fact is no woman has ever won the Digicel Rising Star competition and despite the many great golden voices that have taken the main stage over the last five years the men have always reigned supreme. Even more ominous for Cameal is the fact that this year she has five men to beat, one for each female fan.
No one knows who will be the 2008 Digicel Rising Stars winner but what is clear is that whoever wins the divide as to whether that person was the best will remain. And this is the reason that makes this year’s competition one of the best ever!