On the hunt for TT’s Next Superstar

The youth NGO is hosting the 2017 edition of the Trinidad and Tobago Next Superstar Competition.

Auditions are scheduled to begin on January 14 from 10am to 1pm at Tranquility Primary School, Stanmore Avenue, Port-of-Spain.

The competition’s ultimate aim is to “provide a platform for amateur calypso and soca artiste to showcase their talents in a friendly, competitive environment while at the same time being exposed to training by industry professionals allowing them to develop their craft in preparation for careers within the music industry,” a release from the NGO said.

The competition, in its second year, was the brainchild of president of Trinidad and Tobago Youth Ambassadors, Kendel Vincent.

It is his hope that the competitions leads to the development and growth of some the country’s young talent.

Last year, Michela Williams from Tobago was the organisation’s superstar.

For the group, promoting and developing homegrown talent is important.

The group was started in 2014 by Vincent following his involvement in several youth projects. The 25-yearold told Newsday while there were always youth projects around there were never sustained efforts at keeping the youth actively engaged.

“I have been involved in different projects-part of the National Youth Assembly.

But it was always one off and I wanted a more sustained effort. The Government tried to start the National Youth Council but that too was not sustained. I wanted to create a sustained effort…” Throughout TT, there are 16 ‘trained and certified’ youth ambassadors promoting the causes of and advocating on behalf of the nation’s youth.

The group has also a number of projects under its belt, among them Project Smile- a national social outreach project geared toward providing aid and relief to low income, underprivileged children and youth and families across TT, The National Youth Ambassadors Programme, Camp Excel-which targets children from ages five to 17 during the vacation programme and National Youth Aids Awareness Programme, which raises awareness about the importance of engaging youth in the prevention and treatment of HIV/Aids. The group has received sponsorship from the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts for this year’s competition.

If interested, the registration process for the competition can be started online at www.facebook.

com/ttnextsuperstar or by emailing ttnextsuperstar@ gmail.com.

Interested parties can also pre-register by contacting 349-2529, 764-7030 or 732- 7630. Applications are to be submitted by January 12 with an application fee of $75. The final competition is expected to take place February 18.