FOURTEEN-year-old Lisa Punch dealt the audience at the National Cultural Centre a knockout blow with her rendition of Whitney Houston’s `I Will Always Love You’ to emerge the winner of Guyana’s first reality show.
Although Star Guyana may not have reached the expectations of Guyanese, no one can argue the fact that it did produce many stars, Lisa sitting at the top of the bunch.
When she took to the stage of the National Cultural Centre (NCC) on the evening of January 1, everything, except the task at hand was blocked from her mind, Lisa said.
And although her performances in the other two aspects of the competition – drama and dance – were not as strong, her song was enough to see her through.
Still basking in her success, the Virgo born, third form North Georgetown Secondary School student sat down with the Sunday Chronicle at her Charlotte Street, Georgetown home Friday and spoke about the excitement of the competition.
Lisa always knew she was talented, but the support of her parents and their encouragement to enter the competition provided her with a new level of confidence which she took throughout the competition.
“My parents heard about the audition and they told me and decided to put me in because they knew I had talent,” she told the Sunday Chronicle.
She said the beginning of the competition was easy and there was no nervousness. However, it did begin to creep in towards the end.
“Coming down to the end I became nervous because everyone is good and you have to be better,” she said.
The road to the title was not smooth and Lisa stumbled on her first hurdle when she was chosen as a wild card to enter the competition. This did not sit well with the teen who recalled that she cried backstage.
“I did not expect that; I worked hard during the auditions and to be given a wild card hurt and so I cried.”
But she took it as an opportunity to work harder and ensure she never found herself in that position again – and she never did.
She singled out Travis Bowen, who eventually placed second, and Lois Moseley for special mention as her toughest competition but maintained that throughout she knew she had what it took to emerge victorious.
Lisa said she never doubted her ability to win the competition and put all her trust in God and winning meant that God had answered her prayers.
“I expected to win because I prayed and fasted and God answered my prayers,” the smiling winner said.
She said preparing for the competition was not easy since she also had her school end of term examinations to study for.
The final week, she said, was especially difficult since the performers had to learn three new routines in one week.
She does not plan to enter more competitions at the moment but will be focusing on her Caribbean Secondary Examinations Certificate (CSEC) examinations and pursuing her dreams of becoming a lawyer.
Lisa, who pocketed $300,000 from the competition, expressed gratitude to God, her parents, John and Nafeeza Punch, and all those who supported her during the competition.
Her mother told the Sunday Chronicle that she was always aware of her daughter’s ability.
She also praised Lisa for the faith she had in God throughout the competition. She recalled that on the day of the finals, her daughter prayed and fasted throughout even though she (her mother) was against it at first.
Lisa, who plans to pursue her career in entertainment later, figures that balancing it with a career in law would not be that difficult because she already has the singing basic – strength in her voice.