Grace Christian Assembly’s tambourine team members, who took home a special category prize, shake the judges’ hands at last year’s CNMI’s Got Talent.
Princess Nicole Rigua and Alyana Rotap were last year’s winners in the children’s category of CNMI’s Got Talent.
BRIDGE Capital LLC is excited to hold its annual CNMI’s Got Talent competition at the Kensington Hotel with over $15,000 in cash prizes at stake, Bridge Capital Vice President Bart Jackson said.
“I’m expecting a great night,” Jackson told Variety. “I’m always impressed by the quality of the performers. We’re reaching out to all the music schools; we’re reaching out to all of the [public and private] schools; we have access to some other competitions, and so I think this is going to be the biggest and the best CNMI’s Got Talent ever.”
The competition takes place on Dec. 16.
Competitors must create an audition video and fill out an application form.
The application form and full guidelines can be found at cnmigottalent.com/. Call Bridge Capital at (670) 322-2222 for more details.
Completed applications can be submitted to the Bridge Capital office in Garapan or can be emailed to [email protected]/.
All auditions must be “Christmas-themed.” “Non-Christmas” themed auditions will not be accepted to the full performance.
The deadline to submit audition videos is Nov. 17.
Jackson said participants are free to select the kind of talent they want to showcase.
He said in the past, he had seen people who juggled soccer balls; manåmko’ who performed in a tambourine band; and all manner of dancers and singers.
The contest guidelines state that the competition is “open to talents of every kind, including singers, dancers, musicians, magicians, etc.”
The adult category is for contestants 17 and above, while the children category is for 16 and under.
Once the application forms and audition videos are submitted, Bridge Capital executives and staff will review the submissions from mid to late November. Bridge Capital staff will contact the performers via email or phone around Nov. 27 to invite them to the competition. Bridge Capital will not contact individuals or groups who did not make it past the audition phase.
On Dec. 16, contestants will check into the event between 4:30 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. The show begins at 6 p.m.
Each contestant is allowed to have one non-participating individual to assist in performance preparation. This individual must be registered with the organizers.
At stake is enough money to make anyone have a “holly, jolly Christmas.”
Grand prize for the adult and children categories is $2,000. First runners up get $1,500 while $1,000 goes to second runners up.
There are also special prizes — the “Most Christmas” award worth $1,500 goes to the most festive person or group, and the Governor’s Choice Award, also worth $1,500, whose recipient will be selected by the CNMI governor.
In addition, Jackson said there are prizes for the “Best in Rota” and “Best in Tinian” categories, to encourage island residents of both islands to join the competition.
Participants are allowed to win across categories, Jackson said. For example, a person who wins the Grand Prize can also win the “Most Christmas” award and so on.
Jackson said aside from the contest participants, the Marianas High School Rhythm ‘n Harmony Glee Club will also make an appearance.
Other surprise performances are being lined up as well, he added.
Bridge Capital is aiming to host around 300 people at this invite-only event which includes dinner and giveaways.
He said that with Kensington Hotel’s large performance space, Bridge Capital can put on a show.
“We’re looking to create a real theater [atmosphere],” Jackson added.
“It’s a really nice event and allows some folks at different stages in their careers to showcase and practice their craft,” Jackson said. “What I really like seeing is when we have someone who performed last year, or the year before, who’s obviously worked on their singing or worked on their dance and spent a lot of time and put a lot of effort into it.”
Adult category grand prize winners, Cire Joseph Durano, left, and Joel Balagon, aka Cookies and Cream, perform for the crowd at the 12th CNMI’s Got Talent.
