The Digicel Rising Stars' search for Jamaica's next big star continues in Montego Bay on Saturday.

Hundreds of people turned up at the Portmore Heart Academy last Saturday for the first audition and series producer Sharon Schroeter said she hoped the trend continued.

really difficult

"There were tons of new faces and I hope it's a trend that continues as we search for the next Digicel Rising Star. Portmore was off the chain, and the top 10 we picked there are amazing. It got really difficult for the judges when we had to narrow it down from about 16 to the top 10," said Schroeter.

There was a change to the auditions this year, which sees all contestants having to impress preliminary judges before going forward to face the experienced trio of Nadine Sutherland, Clyde McKenzie and Anthony Miller. The organisers said this was done in order to facilitate a change in the structure as auditions are usually held over two days but reduced to one this year.

"You only have one chance to make an impression, so you really just have to come and give it all you have. Portmore was certainly a promising start to the season,"said Digicel Rising Stars executive producer, Tahnida Nunes.

After Saturday, the auditions roll into Hotel Versailles in May Pen on May 2, Hibiscus Lodge Hotel in Ocho Rios on May 9, with the journey ending at the Girl Guides' Headquarters in St Andrew on May 16 and 17, when the auditions will take on its old two-day format.

Schroeter explained why Kingston will get two days: "Kingston is where we usually hit the big numbers. We usually get around 1,500 persons coming out, so we decided to take it back to the old format for that audition because of the sheer volume of people that we expect."

All auditions begin at 9 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.