Liberia: Lonestar Cell MTN Y’ello Star 2 in Ganta to Discover New Talent

Fifty Lonestar Cell MTN Yello Star 2 contestants sang their hearts out at Jackie’s Guest house in Ganta in hopes of entering the Y’ello Academy and winning the Y’ello Star 2 Talent Hunt. 

Since the launch of Lonestar Cell MTN Y’ello Star 2 on June 17, nearly 300 young people aged 16 to 35 joined online auditions by submitting videos of themselves singing.  Their desire is to now advance to the next round of competition.  

Lonestar Cell MTN Y’ello 2 organizers and judges traveled to Ganta, Nimba county for face-to-face auditions to make this year’s singing competition more inclusive.  Head Judge and Capitol FM CEO, Chris Wolo said that the goal is to debunk the myth that Monrovia is the only place in Liberia where the best talents live.

“There are people outside Monrovia who would have loved to participate but couldn't because of various circumstances. We are therefore using this opportunity to make the competition much more accessible to Liberians.  Y’ello Star is all about giving everyone an opportunity.”

Y’ello Star 2 organizer, Jonathan Baker, said that county enrolment is up as compared to the 2021 edition of Y'ello Star.     

 “This year, we have seen people from Maryland, Grand Gedeh, Bong, and Nimba Counties.   More county participation is what we wanted, and we are really happy seeing a lot of good talent coming through.”

Baker also encouraged those that did not make it last year to audition again.   

“Never give up on your dreams, keep pushing,” he added. 

The Y’ello Star 2 Judges will audition more contestants on  July 23, at Smart Liberia on the Jallah Town Road.  Registration runs from 8 am to 10 am.  Auditions begin at 11 am.   After reviewing all entries, the judges will shortlist 15 contestants based on growth potential, age, lyric pronunciation, voice texture, creativity, song interpretation, ingenuity, and self-awareness.  

These candidates will move to the Y’ello Star2 Academy for three weeks of intense training and competition.  Contestants will receive interactive master classes on vocals, dance, stage performance, music production, brand and marketing, entrepreneurship, copywriting, and publishing.  

During this phase of the competition, each candidate will reside at the Royal Hotel two days each week while completing in the elimination rounds, known as evictions.    

The Y’ello Star2 winner will receive a new SUV, a 1.5 million LRD record deal and a cash prize of USD $300.  The winner receives a one-year performance contract with Lonestar Cell MTN and 1GB of data monthly for a year.  

Thanks to the new sponsor S+, the winner will receive one year’s worth of gas and be featured at the MTN Liberia Music Awards in November.  Follow Lonestar Cell MTN Liberia Y’ello Star2 on Lonestar Cell MTN’s Facebook page or by using the hashtag, #YelloStarLIB.