Reading Time: 4 minutes

There have been many contestants from Jamaica’s Digicel Rising Stars who have left us with memorable performances over the years.

As the competition continues, Our Today takes a look at the musical journey these contestants have ventured on since being on the show.

With popular names and winners such as Romain Virgo, Christopher Martin and Dalton Harris already mentioned, let us catch up with some of the less familiar faces.

Sharona Jonas – Digicel Rising Stars 2012 winner

Like many other winners of the singing competition, a career in the music industry was not promising for Jonas.

After winning the competition, she performed at many local events alongside previous winners such as Verlando Small and Romain Virgo.

But her career did not take off as she would have hoped.

The 29-year-old has since been baptised, committing her life to God in 2018.

There has been little buzz about her music career since, but, based on her social media platforms, Our Today understands she now lives overseas.

There she continues to sing at church services, sharing her beautiful voice with members of the congregation.

Jody Kay – Digicel Rising Stars 2015 winner

Jody K entered the singing competition as a biology teacher at St Andrew Technical High School with dreams of making it big as a gospel artiste.

Devoted to living her life for God, the gospel music machine has since preformed at several gospel concerts across the island.

Though she has not got her big break, she continues her musical journey, releasing her EP Higher in 2021.

In June of this year, she also performed alongside fellow Digicel Rising Stars winner Sherlon Russell (2019 winner) at the Acts of Praise Gospel concert.

Akeem ‘Short Boss’ Smith – Digicel Rising Stars 2017 winner

Likkle but we tallawah is a Jamaican saying that can best describe Digicel rising stars 2017 winner Akeem ‘Short Boss’ Smith.

It was his rendition of Adele’s When We Were Young that gained him the edge to take the title, a beautiful masterpiece that left tears in the eyes of spectators.

However, after winning the competition, his career hit a dead end and he disappeared from the music scene.

He returned to that scene in 2020, releasing his single Smile and Wave a song about striving in the face of adversity.

The following year he also released Nah Fail, a single highlighting the many struggles he is facing in his personal life and his willingness to persevere.

Earlier this year he also performed at a few local events, mainly in the hotel industry at Sandals Resorts.

He also has a YouTube channel and a Tik Tok where he shares his music. However, the accounts are not very active.

Latty J – Digicel Rising Stars contestant in 2011

Entering the competition at 22 years old, the August Town native was determined to become a star.

She dropped out of the singing competition soon after entering but, as luck would have it, she returned to the stage as a ‘producers pick’, fighting all the way to the finals.

Though she put up a big fight, she lost the title to Chantel ‘Tash’ Lamont.

Down but not defeated, she continued to pursue music, gaining more popularity than the 2011 winner.

Since winning the title, the dancehall artiste has released several hits such as Who Rule, featuring Mr Vegas, Bumpa, Same Play and No Abuse.

Now she is under the management of Adrian Francis, working with MVM production to take her music on the international scene.

Noddy Virtue – Digicel Rising Stars 2005 contestant

When he entered the Digicel Rising Stars competition in 2005, Noddy attracted a huge following for his rendition of Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi.

Though he did not win the competition, he was able to book several gigs in the hotel circuit.

He also performed at Winter Splash, a concert in Manchester, alongside dancehall and reggae icons Rygin King and Macka Diamond.

Since leaving the competition, he has released singles such as Permanent Screw and Baby with musical covers Rebel In Me by Jimmy Cliff and I Don’t Know Much by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt featured on his album, Just Believe.

Now, he can still be seen performing at many local events all across the island.