You must campaign better - Rising Stars judge warns contestants after shock eliminations

Shock filled the studios of Television Jamaica on Sunday night when it was announced that Shakkanova and Conroy's wild card Shanet, would no longer be a part of Digicel Rising Stars 2018.

The audience and viewers reacted with surprise as they believed both contestants had immense potential and should have advanced to the live show.

When asked if Jamaica got it right this week, all three judges agreed that the wrong two were going home but expressed that votes are the ultimate deciding factor.

Judge Conroy Wilson told THE STAR that as a competition that is based on who gets the most votes per week, the best talents are sometimes voted off and urged contestants to therefore come up with better campaigning strategies.

"You have to have a strong sense of business strategy to keep yourself current and relevant and out there. Yes Shakkanova and Sharnette are two of the stronger contestants performance wise and vocally but if you're not forming strategic alliances with different people then you put yourself at risk of elimination," he said. "You have to have a team who is working for you while you are working. Although the people would love to see the contestant themselves out there in the streets a lot of them have full time jobs and cannot adequately campaign. But if you have a team out there representing you then campaigning becomes easy. Fifty per cent of this competition is talent and the other fifty is alliances so from linkages and create a campaign team if you're in it to win it."

When asked if the producers of the competition should think about revamping the voting process to ensure the most talented contestants move on each week, Wilson said that while the current process has its flaws, it works especially for sponsors who invest millions into the competition.

"It would definitely be useful for there to be some 'control' in ensuring that good talent doesn't get eliminated because of lack of votes," he said. "But the reality is that the show is made possible via sponsorship and the companies that invest want a return on their investment and votes is where they make their money. So it will be hard to get them to rock the boat where voting is concerned because they are looking to gain on their investment."

Pointing out that this year's crop of contestants are perhaps the most talented batch the competition has seen in recent times, Wilson pointed out that while many may believe the show has passed its best years, Digicel Rising Stars still has much to offer and said the buzz created this year is testament to that.

He also pointed out that this week's elimination show is proof that people are still paying attention as the streets are still talking about the two contestants who were eliminated on Sunday.