Akeen Fennell wins 2024 'Digicel Rising Stars'

After an intense campaign trail, Akeen Fennell has emerged as the 20th winner of the 'Digicel Rising Stars' competition.

His victory was announced during the 'Digicel Rising Stars’ result show on Sunday evening outside the studios of Television Jamaica.

The St Mary-native, who received a grand prize of $1.5 million and other prizes, almost missed his shot at entering this year's competition.

"I've been dreading Rising Stars for years now. I mean, I've always watched it and enjoyed it, but to actually enter? I never had the guts to do it at all," Fennell told THE WEEKEND STAR ahead of the final, sharing that he had missed two auditions in his area and had to make his way to Kingston to try out.

Securing his spot in the competition, Fennell made it all the way to the final, where he went head-to-head against voting machine 17-year-old Renecia Bernard.

Bernard placed second and received a cheque for $600,000, along with other prizes.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com