Sesel i annan talan-Youths show flair in singing contest |06 August 2012
Held at the International Conference Centre, the fourth Sesel i annan talan event had contestants battling it out vocally in three categories – 12-17 years, 18-35 years and groups.
Organised by the Jj Spirit Foundation, the competition had initially seen around 450 young 
And on Saturday, the 12-17 years category final battle was between Shane Farabeau and Julia Jeannevol, while Danielle Denis was up against Ruth Mathararachi in the 18-35 years category. In the groups division Next Generation was pitted against Classical Soul Vibration.
Jj Spirit Foundation patron President James Michel was also present for the occasion and he presented the winners with their prizes.
A night of impressive performances ensued where the young people who took part displayed amazing singing talents. They had to sing three songs – one by an international artist, one from a local artist and one picked from the jury’s list.
Musical backing was provided by the Zenith band whose flawless performance led the singers in the individual categories to perform to even greater heights and fantastic sound was provided by the centre’s technicians, as well as sound technician Eddie Télémaque.
With the singers performing in front of a full house, each performance was wildly acclaimed
An impressive décor had also been mounted on the stage by the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation team led by Johny Souris.
Contestants who had been awarded third place in the three categories prior to the finals also performed for the audience. With Francis Volcère as their main vocalist, the Next Level Sound group performed their own composition Vin ek Mwan, Isha Hoareau sang Bound to You by Christina Aguilera in the 12-17 years category, and Marcel Jeannevol interpreted Strength of a Woman by Shaggy in the 18-35 years division.
There were also guest performances by Daniella Larue and Loni Adeline accompanied by Travis Delorié.
Members of the public did not make the decisions of the four-member jury – led by popular local artist Jany De Létourdie – easy as they cheered on their favourite artists.
The judges finally awarded first prize in the 12-17 years group to Shane Farabeau, the first male singer to make the final in this division. Danielle Denis clinched the top prize in the 18-35 years division, while Next Generation was the winner among the groups.
The winners got R25,000, a notebook computer and a host of other prizes, while the runners-up received among other prizes R20,000.
There were also the People’s Choice awards, where members of the public had to vote for their favourite performer through SMS. The people’s choice awardees were Shane Farabeau in the 12-17 years group, Danielle Denis in the 18-35 years division and Next Generation in the groups category. They all got R10,000.
The Sesel i annan talan show aims to give young people in Seychelles a platform where they can showcase their natural artistic abilities after having gone through preliminary auditioning.
Proceeds from this year’s show will go to charitable causes.