Michael Parris' high notes blasted away five other guys in St. Maarten Star Search 2's Male Category Saturday, giving him a comfortable 960-point finish at the end of the first round.Kenyo Baly topped the four kids in his Under-15 category, finishing at 1040 points, but not too far ahead of his closest rival Chardonnay Martis.
Michael - known as "Mikey" to friends - commanded a night of Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone", ending at the top and leading his category by 45 points. Michael is another one of the returning stars-in-the-making proving themselves in their second Star Search appearances.
One week ago, last year's second place finisher Keila Gumbs placed first with a powerful 1102 points - the best score so far and one step closer to winning the competition.
In second place for the males was Arlington de Weever, who matched Jackson's style down to the hat, single, white glove, and mid-performance moonwalk and landed a solid 915 points.
Michael is excited with finishing first, but he does not plan to rest now, knowing his lead could be toppled in two weeks. "I did my best," Michael told MSR Cable TV in an interview after winning. "I just got to do better next time."
Fortunately for both Michael and Arlington beat out all the guys by over 100 points.
Third-place finisher Pierre Devonte promised "singing like you've never heard before", but could only get 790 points.
A skillful and crowd-stirring Enrique Iglesias "Hero" rendition couldn't get Henry Francis past 740 points, and fourth place.
Yshmael Faustin was the last of the six guys to get into the next round, with a 720-point finish. Deep-voiced crooner Mitchell Horsford was eliminated.
The guys battled with the same rules as the girls did a week before. Competing in front of three expert judges, the male vocalists had to deliver songs with excellent performance, voice and tonal quality for the best points. The songs switched from the organizer's choice to the contestants picks, and offering contestants a shot at 600 points in either round.
~ All the Kids Move on~
In an unexpected upset, 13-year-old Kenyo Baly outperformed last year's youngest and most talked-about performer 10-year-old Chardonnay Martis.
Only 17 points separated the two boys.
But none of the four Under-15 performers had much to complain about after another expected turn of events granted all of them a place in the next round. Organizers decided that since at least three children had bowed out at the last minute that all competitors in this round get to compete again.
Kenyo delivered a rare male version of "One Night Only" from Dreamgirls and captured both the judges' and the audience's attention.
Kenyo got 1040 points. Chardonnay got 1023.
Kenyo is considering harder songs for the next round to give the judges a better idea of his singing talents. "I'm feeling very good," Kenyo told www.morebacchanal.com. "I have to look for more difficult songs to sing."
Lakeisha Peters finished with 904 points and Renilia Rollan got 489 points.
Check out the St. Maarten Star Search 2 Male/Kids First Round gallery!