$25,000 Karaoke contest in Seymour January 29th on E! Entertainment TV

Big Mama Digital Entertainment announced that “America’s Rising Stars” contest finals will be held at Big Mama’s Karaoke Café in Seymour on Wednesday, January 29, 2003 beginning at 8 p.m. The $25,000 Karaoke Contest Finals, sponsored by Chartbuster Karaoke, will be taped live for telecast nationally on E! Entertainment T.V. as well as on cable networks throughout the southeast. The fifteen finalists alphabetically listed below have won weekly and regional competitions and are now competing for the opportunity to be the next “Rising Star.” The judges for this competition are Entertainment and Record Industry professionals who will critique the performances of the fifteen finalists and will determine who will become the next “America’s Rising Star.” The judges are: Sandy Brokaw, The Brokaw Company (Los Angeles, California and Nashville, Tennessee) Shug Baggott, Personal Manager for top country artists including George Jones and Kenny Rogers (Nashville, Tennessee) Bernard Porter, Head of A&R at BBR/C4 Records (Los Angeles, California, New York, New York and Nashville, Tennessee) Mark Bright, Award Winning Record Producer (Nashville, Tennessee) Chad Brock, Country Music Recording Artist (Nashville, Tennessee) The finalist are Doug Barker (Johnson City, Tennessee) Becky Burr (Maryville, Tennessee) James Donald (Greenville, South Carolina) Farrah Facemire (Clay County, West Virginia) Sandra Gillott (Cartersville, Georgia) Eric Grosclose (Cartersville, Georgia) Delbert Kiser (Iheger, West Virginia) Melissa Anne Miller (Danville, Kentucky) Crystal Morrisett (Roanoke, Virginia) Tara Murphy (Knoxville, Tennessee) Amy Price (Cincinnati, Ohio) Tisha Smith (Greenville, Ohio) Vernalissi Walker (Hohenwald, Tennessee) Angela Williams (Portmouth, Ohio) Brock Witt (Ikes Fork, West Virginia). Chartbuster Karaoke, the leading producer of Karaoke in the United States, has joined in conjunction with Big Mama’s Karaoke Café to sponsor the upcoming event. The 2003 “Rising Star” will receive Cash & Prizes valued at over $10,000. The finalists were determined after extensive Semi-Finalist rounds of competition held during the 4th quarter of 2002. More than seventy weekly winners participated in the semi-finals and each performer was featured on the T.V. Series “America’s Rising Stars.” Afterwards the performances were posted for viewing online at www.americasrisingstarsonline.com where their peers judged them during the Internet Voting competition. While discussing the upcoming “America’s Rising Star” competition, Executive Producer of the television series, Debi Stovall, professed that Big Mama Digital Entertainment is “proud to conduct this caliber of a contest to give the contestants more opportunity for exposure and advancement in the music industry.” The winner of the contest finals will become the 2003 “America’s Rising Stars” and will receive the Grand Prize which includes $1,000 Cash, a Soundtech C150 P.A. System, a Singing Machine SMG-500 CD+G Player with a Built In Monitor, and a newly released set of the Chartbuster Karaoke Essential 450 - Volume 3 containing 450 of the most requested songs in every genre. In addition to the cash and prizes, the winner will also have the opportunity to record an original song and video with award winning producer, Norbert Stovall, who is also the CEO of Big Mama Digital Entertainment The finished project will then be presented to a major record label on the winner’s behalf. The winner will also be a featured performer on the Big Mama’s Karaoke Café float during the 2003 Dogwood Arts Parade held this coming April. All in all, the Grand Prize Winner will take home an experience of a lifetime and prizes valued at more than $10,000. The Chartbuster Experience and “America’s Rising Stars” will be traveling the country in 2003 holding regional contests everywhere. The Chartbuster Experience is a 48’ tractor-trailer featuring a mobile recording studio, a memorabilia museum and a covered Karaoke stage. The Experience will be seen nationwide at Festivals and Fairs all over the country. It has attracted crowds in the tens of thousands and now hopes to “capture the excitement of discovering new talent at the grassroots,” said Norbert Stovall. “We are taking our Experience to people who love to sing and giving them the chance to become the next “Rising Star.”