WAHS cops the trophy
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FROM a field of six contestants, Kyana Hobson was adjudged Champion of the first ever ZIZ LIME Kittitian SuperStar Teen which was held Saturday night (Nov. 16) at Carnival Village in Basseterre.
The 18-year-old aspiring artiste, affectionately known as 'KyKy', is the daughter of Nu Vybes International Band’s (De Sugar Band) lead vocalist Gregory 'Mention' Hobson.
Her mother, Kindra Rawlins, who is currently in the US was unable to attend the show.
Hobson is a student of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College and last attended the Washington Archibald High School (WAHS), which has won the inaugural trophy.
The trophy was accepted by Cherise Dolphin, a teacher of the WAHS, and was presented to her by ZIZ General Manager Clement ‘Monarch O'Garro.
Notably, the trophy will be rotated every year, depending on who wins the competition. And if any school should win it on three consecutive occasions, that learning institution will earn the right to keep the trophy.
Before announcing the winner, head judge Jason Davis remarked that each contestant had performed well, noting that he and his fellow judges had a “difficult time".
The other two judges were former Director of the St. Kitts and Nevis Culture Department Creighton Pencheon and 2007 Kittitian Superstar winner Karina Phillip-Somersall.
Following the judges tally, there was a tie for the top spot between Hobson and Brian Brookes. However, after deliberations, Hobson came out on top for the tie-breaker decision, while Brookes, a student of Washington Archibald High, placed First Runner-up with 543 points.
The youngest competitor, Lufkin Foster, a student of Verchild’s High, was adjudged Second Runner-up with 536 points.
Interestingly, as announced during the prize giving segment by LIME's Marketing Representative Sharisma Patrick, Hobson with 257 points had gained the most support for the text promotion which asked the general public to text ‘WINNER’ for their favourite contestant.
For that win, she was presented a BlackBerry Curve mobile handset.
Hobson also pocketed $1 000 and copped a package to star in her very own music video, which is being sponsored by the Chief Executive Officer of Tru Capo Productions, Nigel ‘Capo’ Lewis.
The Runners-up received $700 and $500 respectively, compliments ZIZ, along with more goodies from other sponsors.
The KSS Teen Champion was also handed a BlackBerry Q5, compliments LIME, as well as one year free Internet, while Brookes got an Android handset and six months free Internet while Foster was given six months free Internet for his effort.
The competition was divided into two segments; the first being performance without music and the other with musical accompaniment.
In the first round, Hobson did ‘Ave Maria’ by Beyonce and in the second ‘Girl On Fire’ by Alicia Keys. In both performances she gave soulful shows which showed off her top-notch vocals that the audience loved.
Both the First and Second Runners-up performed ‘All of Me’ by John Legend and followed up with ‘You Give Love A Bad Name’ by Bon Jovi and ‘Alabaster Box’ CeCe Winans, respectively.
The other competitors were 18-year-old Zarena Frances, 16-year-old Maya Jacob and 17-year-old Shyan Liburd.
Frances’ renditions in rounds one and two were ‘Diary’ by Eriam Sisters and ‘End of Time’ by Beyonce’; while Jacob sang ‘My All’ by Mariah Carey and a medley of ‘All Out’ by Ciara featuring Nicki Minaj, ‘Diamonds’ by Rihanna’ and ‘Grown Woman’ by Beyonce; and Liburd sang ‘Wrecking Ball’ and ‘Next to Me’, both by Emeli Sandé.
Frances and Jacobs, who attend CFBC, are also past students of Washington Archibald High, while Liburd, who is a student of CFBC, last attended the Basseterre High School.
Among the special awardee was Beulah Elliott of Newton Ground. She was presented an award for being the Number One Fan of Kittitian Superstar which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2014.
Elliott, in turn, had presented a monetary token of appreciation to Hobson and Foster.
Ingrid, mother of the late local Reggae icon, Masud Sadiki, donated a monetary award to Foster who was her favourite contestant on the show.
In a brief conversation during the event, O’Garro said that a show of this nature is “very important to us”. And briefly touching on the issue of crime and violence, he saw KSS as an avenue for the nation’s youth to display their talents and not to go down that path of destruction.
He expressed his delight to work with the winner of the show, which was demonstrated after the event ended, as he was observed taking Hobson’s phone digits in a gesture of being ready to kick start business.
SKNVibes learnt that Hobson, in light of the music video prize, actually wrote a song in advance.
Speaking with her after the show, she was momentarily was speechless but got to saying, “I am stunned and I am grateful to my fans. I am very grateful and motivated by the people who have and continue to support me now that this stepping stone was successful.”
Asked about her immediate plans, Hobson said she intends to "do some recordings", noting that she is planning to “multiple my talent”.
This media house caught up with two of Hobson’s maternal aunts, who briefly commented on their niece’s success.
"I'm not surprised that she won…she is just full of talent! Lufkin is my little sweetheart, congratulations to him as well”, said Divalicious, while Kishauna said:“It runs in the family! We were confident that she would have won from the start. Congrats to all of the contestants."
Hobson’s father, ‘Mention’, said he was proud of her and declared that from an early age she had signalled her intention of becoming a professional singer.
“I'm a proud dad, of course! Being an entertainer, I understand the sacrifice and the nerves that it took. It had always been a dream of hers from a very early age to become a professional singer. This first step was a great step. Let me tell you something that a lot of people don't know about, Kyana, she is an excellent songwriter…a good songwriter for her age."
Creator of the Kittitian SuperStar brand, St. Claire ‘Chico’ Guishard congratulated all the contestants on a job well done.
Guishard told SKNVibes that he was overwhelmed and very impressed with the competition, and noted that he was especially pleased with the support from the public.
“I'm really impressed with what transpired here tonight’, he added.
He expressed his appreciation for Lewis, pointing out that it is very commendable that such a young businessman could sponsor a music video which is an expensive undertaking. He further commented that such contribution speaks well of local talent and opined that Lewis is giving back for which “I am very happy”.
Sponsors of the event were LIME, Tru Capo Productions, TDC, St. Kitts Bottling Company Ltd., Life Fitness Center, Dominoes, Bob and Elvis Party Bus, St. Kitts Marine Works, Mary Belle, Lennox Warner and Neville's.
Guishard explained that there were a few sponsors who preferred not to be publicised, for which he thanked them and all others as well as the contributors, including his work crew, for making the event a success.
The event was hosted by Guishard and KSS judge Sahira David.
Sideshow performers included Nicha B, Hailie J and Silky, and Minister LK.
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