Survival Idol is Back with a Powerful Message

Wednesday 20 September 2006

Survival Idol is Back with a Powerful Message

Tairawhiti’s successful singing competition Survival Idol will be held again this year on Saturday 28 October and dozens of young hopefuls are tipped to compete if last year’s figures are anything to go by.

Survival Idol is based on the NZ Idol concept - the difference being that the young singing hopefuls must give a performance with a road safety message.

Survival Idol Coordinator Kiri Simpson said like last time, a NZ Idol Judge is likely to be one of the Survival Idol judges. The other two judges will be a representative each from the community, and from the Gisborne Police.

“We are expecting a real diverse range of performances from rap, hip hop, soul and kapa haka. Anything goes as long as the words are original, and it has a road safety message”.

Survival Idol was created as a follow up to Shattered Dreams, a locally made video about the devastating impact a drunk driver had on the life of Gisborne teenager Tamati Paul, his family, and the community.

Ms Simpson said when the video is shown at schools the silence from the students afterwards is deafening. Tears often flow.

“He had everything going for him but a drunk driver shattered that. He was left with multiple severe injuries and brain damage. His story could be anyone’s story, and the video was produced as a resource to promote injury prevention and road safety, with a specific focus on Maori. Survival Idol is a way of carrying on the message.”

ENDS

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