2 months ago
16
Were it not for the voting public, Akeen Fennell does not believe he would have been announced as the 20th winner in the annual Digicel Rising Stars competition.
After being hit week after week by the judges with constructive criticism and advice about his wrong song selections, Fennell is grateful that the majority of the voting public considered him over Renecia Bernard, his direct competition in the final.
“Campaigning has been dreadful. If I had known that that is what it was going to be, I would not have entered, but after beginning to campaign and getting the hang of it, I started to really like it. I asked my campaign team, ‘What are we going to do on the road on Monday? We won’t be going on the road to campaign!’” Akeen, who was in jovial spirit on Sunday night, told The Gleaner immediately after his victory was announced.
During his performance of the McFadden & Whitehead hit single Ain’t no Stopping us Now, Fennell serenaded his wife, Angellee, who was actively involved in his campaigning.
Speaking with The Gleaner, Angellee shared how demanding the Rising Stars journey was, especially since she had recently given birth to their son.
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“I’m big on organising, so when he said he was going to do it, I was like, ‘Akeen, you can’t do this by yourself. For sure, you need a team, so let us get the people together.’ I tell people it’s not about the noise of the market, but it’s about the sale. It’s about being strategic and being silent in your movements,” Angellee said.
“I’m super proud!” she added.
Also present to bask in his victory was his mother, Karlene Anderson, who said she knew that her son would have been a singer.
“He was singing from he was little, in the bathroom. He’s a singer from ever since, and trust me, you want to hear him sing at church. That’s where you feel the real singing from him, with the Holy Spirit with him,” Anderson said.
Now that he has won the cash prize of $1.5 million from Digicel, Fennell said he will be focusing more on making new music that will take his career to another level, as it has done for some previous Digicel Rising Stars, such as Christopher Martin, Romaine Virgo and Verlando Small.
“We’ll be definitely pushing the music. We’ll be venturing deeper into it (music). It has been my joy. It has been my passion,”
His mother then chimed in, “And any journey that he takes, we are on it with him!”
Renecia Bernard, who was placed second in the final of the Digicel Rising Stars 20, also attested to the power of the voting public.
“Dem seh mi shoulda drop out already [before the final performance show]. When dem a talk, mi nuh really stay fi hear wa dem have fi seh, inu. ‘Cause mi nah entertain di negativity, so mi just walk weh,” Bernard told The Gleaner.
When asked if she would consider entering another year, she gave the prompt response, “I don’t know yet. Mi cyaan tek stress.”
English (US) ·