Tomorrow night the Toyota Star Maker grand final will see 10 young artists take to the stage in Bicentennial Park.
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Up for grabs is the title of Toyota Star Maker 2018, which will see the winner follow in the footsteps of past winners like Lee Kernaghan (1983), Keith Urban (1990) and Beccy Cole (1993).
Eight of the grand finalists called into the Northern Daily Leader office on Friday – some of them meeting for the first time.
So when the first group of five arrived in the afternoon, we asked them, why did they enter Star Maker?
Brad Cox from southern NSW, spoke up first.
“I entered Star Maker to play the show, it’s a pretty good opportunity to get in front of a heap of people,” he said. “I don’t know heaps about it but some friends told me about it and how it was a big turn out.
“I hate the word exposure, but that’s exactly what it is.”
Tanya Cornish from South Australia, spoke about her first time to Tamworth seven years ago, when she watched the grand final, thinking ‘I’d love to be up there’.
“It’s been a dream since seven years ago, I’ve done all the other competitions, and gone to Norfolk Island and won that. It’s just been a dream to work towards.”
Several of the finalists mentioned the opportunities that come will Star Maker, such as bookings on major festivals, and the support for their careers.
“I said to myself ‘I want to be on that stage in the next three years’, and that was last year,” Heath Milner said.
Although the 18-year-old admitted he didn’t expect to make the grand final in his first year of eligibility.
Jake Sinclair said entering Star Maker was all about taking the next step in his career.
“It’s a prestigious award, it’s taken very seriously within the industry and you can’t beat the prize package – the car, the support, the fuel.
“If you add up my fuel bill, it’d be very handy.”
Hayley Wilson from Mt Isa, agreed what the competition offered artists was the next step in their career.
“Star Maker is such a good platform to be recognised on, among industry peers.
“Just the label of being in Star Maker and being a grand finalist is such a huge honour.
“I’ve been told by Star Maker winners that so many opportunities can come from it, so many doors get opened,” she said.
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At 6pm on Friday, three more finalists arrived at the office together. We sat down with Cassidy Rae Gaiter, Emily Joy and Taylor Pfeiffer, and again asked why had they entered Star Maker.
Gaiter is the only entrant in Star Maker this year who has been there before – she was a finalist 12 months ago.
“Last year’s Star Maker was such a highlight of not only my Tamworth, but my entire year. Seeing what the Star Maker family is all about, I got a taste of that last year and for the whole of 2017 it wasn’t even a question, I was definitely going to enter Star Maker again,” she said.
“It was a no-brainer, I had the time of my life.”
Taylor Pfeiffer described the competition as a great platform for country music artists to further their careers.
“You get to meet other people and other musicians, and get to network,” she said.
When Emily Joy first came to the festival, she watched the Star Maker final in the town hall.
“I was just in awe of it, I was thinking ‘I really want to get into that one day’,” Joy said.
“Just to be a grand finalist itself is a fantastic experience so far, and all the opportunities that have come over the past few days have been great.”
The other two finalists who will take to the stage in Toyota Park on Sunday night are Queenslanders Tammy Moxon and Chloe Styler.
Star Maker co-ordinator Cheryl Byrnes has described it as the perfect jump-start to any career, with the $100,000 prize package that goes along with the prestige of the title.
That package includes the use of a new Toyota motor vehicle and an unlimited fuel card for 12 months, plus guaranteed performances at major festivals and events throughout Australia.
For the second time in its long history the grand final will be free to the public, with the winner announced on the night.
Darren Coggan, who won Star Maker in 1996, returns as the compere and there will also be a performance by outgoing 2017 Toyota Star Maker Rachael Fahim.