Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Aiming for a star
The finals for YES FM Radio Super Star is on, and the five contestants are gearing up for the big day. Who will it be? Ishani Ranasinghe talks to the chosen five
And then there were five…
Weeks of voting, tons of comments by the judges, the good and the bad, and of course the ones from their friends and family, weeks of singing their hearts out, and it has finally come down to this… the final five of the YES FM Radio Super Star have been chosen.

Last week, I met these five youngsters, who have been wowing the listeners of YES FM, and have been good enough to make it to the final five. Some of them are new-comers to the competition, whereas some of them tried this out last year… All in all they seem to be thrilled to be here, and are loving the whole experience very much.

“We don’t usually get interviewed and all that,” Saidomar Macasiling says with a laugh, adding that his mother recorded him singing on the radio. Having taken part last year, Saidomar reached the top ten, but never made it further. But this year making it to the final five, he says he is mostly thankful to the Filipino community for helping him to get this far.

Having always had a passion for singing, he says he first decided to take part in the competition for the fun of it, “and if I got anywhere it would be a bonus for me.”

Did he think he had it in him to get in here? “Not to be egoistic or anything, but yes, I did think I might make it this far. I think we all did,” he said, adding that he feels that they all know how good they are.

Having taken part in a few talent competitions here and there, this is the first major competition he has taken part in. “I used to sing in school for my friends and in the toilet,” he says, adding that the karaoke culture, has always been a big thing in their community. This is where his passion for singing was instilled – “We are always singing.”

Looking ahead at the competition, he says he is a bit nervous about it. “I am not really good at memorising lyrics, but I have been working on it,” he says, adding that he hopes that his friends will be there to support him making it easier.

Still talking about the experience about making it this far, Dilini Perera says, “Singing on the radio… it was like ‘Oh my god!!!!’” Having decided to take part, because her parents thought it was a good idea, she adds that before she was unsure whether to give it a shot or not. “I was on the fence about it, but my parents thought it would be a good idea to just try it out.”

Hoping that she would get into the final five, she adds that after seeing the talent that was on display, she realised that it would be a big ‘if’. “Everyone was so talented and it was really nerve wracking,” she says, adding that all in all it had been a good learning experience for her.

Sharing their thoughts on the concept of YES FM Radio Super Star, Samantha Perera says that this is a great change from everything, “There is not much to do here in Sri Lanka, and it tends to get boring.” She believes that this competition has the potential to reach the American Idol standard, a fact the others agree on. At fifteen years Samantha is the youngest contestant to make it to the final five.

Trying out for Radio Super Star last year, she was not allowed to take part due to the fact that she was below the age limit, “But this year I made it.” What made her want to give Radio Super Star a shot was the fact that she has wanted to sing for a very long time. “This is the first major competition I am taking part in, and I am really thrilled about making it this far,” she says excitedly.

“I think this is a bit of a popularity contest,” says Saidomar, adding that the final 15 were always the cream of the crop. Going by his experience last year, he says that once it was up to the public, sometimes people who were better than the others got nowhere.

“I feel that this in a way is a good thing, because what matters is what the public likes to hear,” says Insiyah Mansoor, who is taking part in the competition for the first time. “I have taken part in other competitions as well, and I knew that I had the talent and thought I would give it a shot,” she says, explaining why she decided to take part in the competition. She has been singing for a long time, and says that when she first auditioned she felt that she would at least make it to the first 15. “But then, after that it was based on the votes so I was a little nervous,” she says, adding that as she has made it to the finals, she is very excited. “I tried my best and I am happy that I have come this far.”

As for the public being the judges of how well they sing, she adds that it doesn’t really matter much to her, because she believes that “at the end of the day it’s your hard work that gets you somewhere.”

“Before it was just the radio and that’s a good thing,” says Dilini, explaining that this way people vote for you, based on your voice and not what you look like. “So it’s a matter of whether you are talented or not.” “It could work both ways,” says Dilini, explaining that this could make it look like a popularity contest, but also get the public to decide who they want to hear on radio. “At the end of the day, it’s they who would be listening to you or even buying your CD,” says Samantha.

“It’s also a little like running for presidency,” says Shenali Gunaratne, explaining the comments she got from her friends when she asked them to vote for her. It was her younger sister that got Shenali interested in the competition, “and I thought why not go for it.” Hoping to actually win the competition, she says that she is glad to have made it this far. As for the finals, “I am very nervous about it, but am very much looking forward to it,” she says with a smile.

Sharing her sentiments of the voting process of the competition, she adds that maybe along with the votes the judges should also have a say in the whole process; a sentiment shared by the other contestants as well.

Speaking about the rest of the contestants that took part this year, Dilini says that this year the quality of the singing has definitely been higher. So it’s quite clear that these five contestants are the best among the best, and the finals would definitely be worth attending.

The finals of the YES FM Radio Super Star promises to be one extravagant event that would wow the audience. The contestants at the finals will be singing four songs. A song of their choice, a song picked by the judges, one with the live band, and all five contestants will perform one song together with Bathiya and Santhush.

What lies ahead for the final five is a week of hard work, practicing, memorising and also building up the confidence to get on stage and perform, and be heard by the rest of Sri Lanka. Easy task? Not likely, but they have made it this far, and one of them is just a step away from becoming the next YES FM Radio Super Star.

They dared to dream… and now they are finally here… the finals. The finals for the YES FM Radio Super Star will be on November 6, at 7.30 p.m., at the Galle Face Hotel. Tickets for the show will be available at the YES FM head office. YES FM Radio Super Star is done in association with Pepsi and co-sponsored by KIT.

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