A year has gone by since Charter House’s Stars of the Future produced great voices and a lot of laughter. If you have been waiting in anticipation, wait no more. It’s the new and improved Stars of the Future.

It has taken Charterhouse a year because they have been busy. This year’s Stars of the Future has an add-on: dance. This becomes the third section of the competition, adding to the music and comedy. And the prizes are even more lucrative. Unlike last year’s winner who took home cash and some gizmos, the winner of the voice competition will drive home a brand new set of wheels.

Auditioning started in Takoradi at the Shippers Council on 23rd March with a not-so-impressive turn out. The next day the audition panel was in Cape Coast and the selection of wannebes continues on April 5th in Kumasi. The train finally stops in Accra on April 9th. Contestants will be shortlisted on the 13th of April and the actual event will be launched by the end of next month. The competition is open to wannabes between of 16 and 25yrs. After short listing, for three months, these wannabe ‘stars’ will be groomed and nurtured and given an opportunity to show off their skills to a TV audiences.

The competition will run on multiple networks in Ghana and there will be inserts on DStv’s Africa Magic in real time. To determine who wins, the judges get 30% of the votes and the public has 70%. But at the grande finale, it will be a 50-50 split between the panel and the public.

“The whole idea is to look for new entertainment stars…we are looking for a new breed, a new generation of stars,” Charterhouse’s Events manager, Theresa Ayoade says. “The kind of people we are looking for must be articulate, confident and be able to express themselves artistically. You must be well-read and know what is happening around the world in entertainment.” Charterhouse is in to do a good quality event, Theresa promises. “When we explode, everybody is gonna say WOW!” she says.

Comedy, music and dance are what Stars of the Future is about. For comedy, the competition is looking out for someone who can engage the crowd with original and witty jokes and an outstanding personality. For music, they want someone who can reach the high notes without crumbling and for dance they want style, attitude and charisma.

The ‘star’ of the music contest wins a car and a performance contract. Winners of the comedy and dance categories also walk away with cash prizes and a performance contract. Charterhouse insists on the winners doing their own work of originality. Contestants are allowed to express themselves in their own way and come out with what they feel most comfortable with (of course, with the guidance of professionals).

Everything about Stars of the future is on the up and up this year. This will be a chance for fans of last year’s winner, Irene and Jane (the second runner up) to show what they have been working on. They have taken their time to create an album, which they hope will make it to the top of the charts anywhere.