Are you a local singer waiting to share your vocal talent? Look no further than the 7th annual StarQuest Singing Competition, whose primary goal is to showcase the hidden talent in the Los Angeles community. This weekend, StarQuest is holding in-person auditions Saturday, September 22 from 11am-4pm and Sunday, September 23 from 12pm-5pm for adults and children at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza on the Macy’s Bridge. This is the last call for all singers to prove they have what it takes to become the next StarQuest finalist for a chance to perform in front of 350,000 event goers at the 13th annual Taste of Soul Family Festival on Saturday, October 20.
In early August, Bakewell Media, creators of the singing competition, announced the return of StarQuest with three ways to audition: online, in-person, and on the Taste of Soul mobile app.
Below are the contest rules:
- Participants are allowed to perform their song of choice a cappella or bring their musical track on a CD or flash drive
- Your song should be one minute and 30 seconds, and should be the only song on the CD or flash drive
- Lead vocals are not allowed on the song, however background vocals are allowed
- StarQuest is a singing competition only! A rap bridge with clean lyrics is acceptable however, 80 percent of the performance must be sung
- No bands or instrumental accompaniments are allowed in the audition
To audition online, all contestants must upload a 45 second video of themselves singing a song of their choice. When the videos are approved, they can be viewed and voted by the public one vote per day, per person, per video. The online auditions will close today (Thursday, September 20), so make sure to plug your videos on social media to receive as many votes as you can. If you missed this deadline, or if you weren’t chosen as the Online People’s Choice finalist, don’t worry there are still two other ways to audition.
Auditioning on the Taste of Soul mobile app is easy as 1-2-3. First, download the Taste of Soul mobile app through either Google Play or the Apple Store. Next, record yourself singing the song of your choice on your phone. Finally, upload the voice recording to the Taste of Soul mobile app.
If mobile apps aren’t your thing or if you weren’t voted as the StarQuest Online People’s Choice finalist, mark your calendar for the StarQuest Singing Competition in-person auditions. In-person auditions will be held on Saturday, September 22 from 11am-4pm and Sunday, September 23 from 12pm-5pm at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90008 on the Macy’s Bridge. Ages 5-17 will compete in StarQuest4Kids and ages 18 and up will compete in the StarQuest adults.
Only six finalists will be selected at the live auditions and one finalist will be selected from the online auditions (Online People’s Choice finalist) with the highest votes to perform live on the Hyundai Soundstage at the 13th annual Taste of Soul on Saturday, October 20. Additionally, celebrity judges will choose the two grand prize winners to perform on one of the Taste of Soul radio partner stages the day of the family festival and each grand prize winner, one from StarQuest Kids (ages 5-17) and one from StarQuest Adults (ages 18+) will receive $500.
For information on the judges who will be at the StarQuest Singing Competition auditions this weekend (September 22 and 23) or for a full list of contest rules and details visit www.tasteofsoul.org/starquest, call StarQuest producer Pat Shields at (310) 568-9091 or email her at [email protected].
To watch testimonials of last year’s StarQuest winners, go to https://lasentinel.net/starquest-2017-winners-interview.html
