youth talent
Archive - 2014 Competition
Birmingham
Sandwell and Dudley
Best Musicians / Band:
Keilah Stjuste
Keilah said, "15 years ago I sang my first ever
tune - I was a loquacious child. I began singing
ever since I could talk, really; but never took
its seriously. My mother would always make
time to sing my favourite song of that time -
Kylie Minogue - out of my head. When the
time arose I would ad lib the 'lalalas'. I was
raised mostly around reggae and RnB music,
therefore, my main influences are Lauryn Hill,
Whitney Houston; Mary J Blige; The Fugees; to name a few. I have participated in two competition recently. I, in the words of Drake, 'started from the bottom and won 3rd place. I then went on and took home the second place trophy and last weekend I received the 1st trophy, given to me by StarYouthTalent. I was elated and in disbelief that I was capable of such things. Now that I am in the top spot I, Keilah St. Juste must try my hardest to remain there."
Best Dancer:
Joe Evans aka JStepz
Joe Evans aka JStepz said "I started body Popping
after having a Diversity DVD for Christmas at age
11. Joe has appeared in two music videos,
Millionaire by Scouting for Girls and Mountains by
Lucy Spraggan. He is also in Nativity 3 which is at
cinemas in November. Joe has raised over £7000
for charities including The Red Cross. Joe said
winning the Birmingham Heat was an exciting
experience and he is looking forward to performing again at the final."
Best Musicians / Band:
Bradley Turner
Bradley says, "I'm Bradley Turner and I'm 17. I also
have autism. I believe that music has changed my
life and has given me a chance to express my inner
emotions. And since last year, I have received extra
help and support with my singing teacher who has
introduced me to the classical music genre and
opera genre.
I must admit that I really enjoyed competing in this show and have enjoyed making new friends. Taking part in this talent competition has somehow improved my confidence and self esteem, and I look forward to competing in the final."
Best Musicians / Band:
Byron Hylton
Byron Say's, "I am 18 years and I’m a rapper from
Birmingham. I have been rapping for approximately
2 years doing performances at my High School,
Sixth Form and along side the Coneygre Arts Centre
as often as I can. Every song that I perform is an
original piece of material as I write all of my own
songs and I have recently started to make backing
tracks/ instrumentals of my own.
My aim is to make music and perform it everywhere I can and as often as I can, I also aim to make music so that people can enjoy and listen to it on a daily basis as much as I do now. My main aim is to get my music played over a vast distance of the world, preferably worldwide in the future."
Walsall
Wolverhampton
Best Dancer:
Hugo Nsio
Hugo said, "I'm Hugo, I'm 18 years old, and I've
been dancing properly for 4 years now, the sort
of dance style I perform is street/hip hop, lyrical
& contemporary dance. My experience at the
star competition was fun, I had great time
performing to the judges and audience. As for
being a star winner I was surprised and happy
but I am determined to improve as a performer."
Best Musicians / Band:
Vanessa and Reece
Reece said, "It gave me the confidence to pursue
it and take it seriously and allow me to progress
to where I am today. Taking part in the STAR
Youth Talent Competition improved my
confidence massively and having won the
competition, and receiving feedback from the
professionals has allowed me to focus on working
on areas that need improvement, it has also
opened the door to many opportunities". Vanessa
said, "When I first heard about the STAR competition I wasn't planning on taking part, but when I learnt more about the chance to meet and interact with industry professionals I couldn't pass down such an amazing opportunity. So then I decided to enter as a duet with my cousin Reece. Since winning we have been offered opportunities to perform at many other events, and I would not of had to confidence to do so without the STAR competition which gave me the platform to overcome my shyness."
Best Fashion Designer:
Abigail, Danielle & Kierra
They said, "The Fashion collection which I
co-designed and co-created for the STAR Youth
Talent Competition was with my cousin Kiera
and sister Danielle. The collection was called
'Roar Elegance' and was based on fusing
leopard print clothes and dresses. STAR has
given me an opportunity to develop my skills
and provided a platform for me to showcase
my talents and abilities. Its been a great
experience and achievement becoming a winner. Prior to the competition Kiera, Danielle and I attended a fashion workshop where professional fashion coaches inspired and assisted us in our development. Since winning the competition it has boosted my confidence and more opportunities has risen to continue in this pathway."
Best Musicians / Band:
Charlotte Bailey
Charlotte said, "My name is Charlotte Bailey, I am
17 and a left handed guitarist, singer/songwriter.
I have been excelling in my talent for 2 years and
I love it! Music is my playground and my passion!
I believe I have a unique and fresh sound, and love
sharing this through my musical creativity with an
audience. Star Youth Talent was an incredible
experience and an amazing opportunity to be
amongst such talented young musicians. I especially
enjoyed being able to perform to such an experienced panel of judges and receive feedback which I will use to continue to grow. I look forward to further involvement with Star Youth Talent and would encourage all young people who have an interest in music, dance or fashion to get involved! Wow, what a fantastic feeling to win the Wolverhampton and Willenhall's Music category. I am super excited and cannot wait for the finals! Thank you very much! "
Best Dancer:
Upload
Upload Dancers said "We are the Junior crew
based at Danceforce in Wolverhampton. The
dance school specialises in street & hip hop
training along with many other styles to a
wide range of ages & cultures. Upload consist
of Keeley, Ellie, Brandon, Ayanna, Ryan &
Bethany. We train once a week and have been
a collective group since 2013. We are
currently training in foundation hip hop styles
such as Waacking, House and Nu Style. We have recently trained with BRITAIN'S Got Talent dance duo Twist n Pulse. We were were overjoyed at winning the Star Youth Talent contest and are still talking about it now! Thank you we really enjoyed it. We cannot wait to start training for the finals and are grateful to participate in such a fun competition. We would like to thank our parents for supporting us and Naomi our choreographer."
