4 August 2011

The competition is on to see who will be crowned as the supreme ‘Westfield Five Minutes of Fame’ winner for 2011 as nine finalists from around New Zealand battle it out online.

Kiwis aged 5 -18 years were challenged to grab their ‘5 Minutes of Fame’ by showcasing their singing, dancing or musical abilities on stage. The talent shows were held at nine Westfield shopping centres throughout the country from 18 to 29 July.

More than 670 contestants took to the stage at nine Westfield shopping centres around the country in the competition, with a total prize pool worth $20,000 up for grabs.

This year it’s up to the public to choose the national winner, with all finalists’ videos available to view and be voted on via the Westfield website. Online voting runs from Monday 8 August to midnight Sunday 21 August.

The finalists are:
• Jaycelin Ruiz (18) from Edgewater College who sang Sunday Morning by Maroon 5 and played acoustic guitar at Westfield Pakuranga
• Rose Anne Yumul (17) from Glenfield College who sang Listen by Beyonce at Westfield Glenfield
• Monica Orbe (14) from Hamilton Girls High School who sang Halo by Beyonce at Westfield Chartwell
• Joshua Faletutulu (14) from Tawa School who sang The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars and played guitar at Westfield Queensgate
• ‘The Setu Boys’ trio – Joseph Roberts (9) from St Anne’s Catholic School, Seth Roberts (11) of Rowandale Primary School and Schultz Setu (13) from Dilworth School who sang Is You by SpawnBreezie at Westfield Manukau
• Caleb Rawson (11) from Excellere College in Kamo who sang Heal the World by Michael Jackson at Westfield Shore City
• Nathan Kara (16) from Mount Albert Grammar School who performed a dance routine
• Paris Pleydell (10) from St Dominics Primary School with a hip hop dance routine

As well as the chance to be rocketed to stardom, the 5 Minutes of Fame winner will take home a $1,500 tuition grant to help them fine tune their talent.

This year the number of entrants doubled and competition was fierce as judges and audiences were treated to a talented array of singing, dancing and musical genius.

Westfield New Zealand National Marketing Manager, Debra Brooks, said the event’s organisers were amazed at the amount of talented individuals we have in New Zealand.

“Our schools should be proud of the natural talent these students possess and should be applauded for fostering an appreciation of the arts. It takes a lot of courage to get up there and perform in front of a shopping centre audience!” she said.

“5 Minutes of Fame gives kids the chance to perform to a live audience, allows the public to see these talented acts, and provides a fun and encouraging environment in which the children can hone their skills,” added Brooks.

Judging panel representative Nikky Anderson commented that the increase in contestants this year meant competition was tougher than in any previous year.

“Some of the talent was truly outstanding,” she says. “Amongst the shows I managed to see, I was blown away by a trio of young boys performing acapella out at Westfield Manukau City, musicians who wrote their own music and are only 11 years old, and break dancers and tappers who were just flawless. 5 Minutes of Fame is a great platform for young performers and I’m sure we’ll continue to see an increase in talent each year.”

The total $20,000 5 Minutes of Fame prize pool includes Westfield gift vouchers, iPod shuffles and iTunes gift cards. Each daily centre winner [Monday–Thursday] took away an iPod Shuffle and the Centre’s overall winner on the Friday took away a $500 Westfield gift voucher and the chance to win the grand prize.

To view all nine finalists’ performances and vote for your favourite, visit www.westfield.co.nz.

ENDS

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