St. Louis Celebrates SPARKLE

Over this past weekend many singing hopefuls came out for the SPARKLE Singing Challenge in St. Louis. One of 14 cities to host the competition, amateur singers between the ages of 13-40 were invited to participate and required to sing a 60-second a cappella version of either Celebrate or Something He Can Feel from the movie SPARKLE.

The challenge also took place in New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Philadelphia.

On the SPARKLE judging panel were Kevin Johnson (Post Dispatch), Stacie Static (Hot 104.1), April Simpson (Fox2now), and Kenya Vaughn (The St. Louis American). Sponsored by Sony Pictures, BET, Myspace and HOT 104.1, the event was held at the NASCAR SpeedPark in the St Louis Mills Mall.

With all the great local talent that auditioned, in the end the judges chose singer Asia McGee. Each local winner throughout the country received $500 in cash and a chance to compete for the national Grand Prize. The Grand Prize winner will win a trip to New York, an appearance on BET’s 106 & Park, a recording session with the Punch Monkeys producer & writing team, and a Myspace homepage feature.

Watch her performance below.

McGee will be among the contestants you can vote for.

One (1) Finalist per market will progress to the Phase Two of the Contest. The “Public Voting Period” begins on Wednesday, July 25, 2012 and ends on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 3 pm ET. Voting is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, who are 13 years of age or older (the “Voters”) at the time of voting. During the Voting Period, the Taped Performances of the Finalists will be posted on  http://www.myspace.com/sparkle and  http://www.bet.com/celebrities/movies/sparkle.html. 

THERE IS NO LIMIT ON HOW MANY TIMES VOTERS CAN VOTE. Click HERE for the contest rules.

Detroit, 1968. The Motown sound is sweeping the nation. Girl groups are hotter than ever. Over their mother’s (Whitney Houston) objections, three beautiful sisters—Delores (Tika Sumpter), Sister (Carmen Ejogo) and Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) —are taking the local music scene by storm. But their dreams are bigger than Detroit. Their manager, Stix (Derek Luke), is just as ambitious and will do whatever it takes to make it to the big time, even if it means using the girls—and his love for Sparkle—as the foundation of a new musical empire. Behind the music and lights, the recording industry is a ruthless and unforgiving place, just as Mama had warned her girls. Sister, with her good looks and voice, is the natural headliner of the trio, yet her complicated personal life threatens to overshadow her talent; Delores has her sights set on a different kind of life outside the spotlight; and young Sparkle must push past her deepest fears if she is to fulfill her destiny—does she really have what it takes to go all the way? Riveting and soul-stirring, this timeless tale reminds us of the unbreakable bonds between family, the high price of fame and what can happen when we dare to show the world how brightly we can sparkle. They had a dream. She had it all.

SPARKLE, starring Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston, Derek Luke, Mike Epps, Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter, Omari Hardwick and CeeLo Green, opens August 17th in theaters everywhere.

From TriStar Pictures, SPARKLE has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for the following reasons: MATURE THEMATIC CONTENT INVOLVING DOMESTIC ABUSE AND DRUG MATERIAL, AND FOR SOME VIOLENCE, LANGUAGE AND SMOKING.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SPARKLE, VISIT SPARKLE-MOVIE.COM

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