FOR the second year in a row, Saint International introduced the Fashion Face of the Caribbean model competition finalists at an after-work party dubbed Fashionably Karaoke at Grand Port Royal Hotel Marina and Spa in Kingston, last Friday night.

“We created this last year to allow the contestants to show their personalities, as a lot of people don’t realise how important a factor it is on the international level,” Deiwght Peters CEO of Saint International, told the Jamaica Observer.

For the evening’s karaoke, there were 50 of the competition’s 65 entrants showing off their vocal chops to guests including family, designers, and the media.

Setting the mood was emcee Alwyn Allen who then handed over to the male contestants, who were fewer than their female counterparts.

The trio of Kevin Feirman, Leon Peart and Garraine Vine kicked things off, but it wasn’t until Antroy Chambers’s rendition of Bruno Mars’s Grenade that the vibe got revved up.

The ladies also started off slow with a block of Rihanna hits such as California King Bed and Unfaithful, but it took Suwainnee George’s rendition of Take A Bow for them to match the energy of Chambers.

Once the microphone returned to the men, the songs switched to a more reggae mood.

Fashionably Karaoke leads into the March 15 final at the Courtleigh Hotel for both the Fashion Face of the Caribbean 2014 and The Jamaica Avant Garde: Designer of the Year competitions.

According to Peters, six of last year’s Fashion Face entrants gained international contracts.

The Avant Garde contest will see designers vying for a $50,000 prize. This year, it is sponsored by Campari and has 22 entrants.

“The designers will have a theme, Campari red and be judged by the likes of attorney-at-law, Tom Tavares-Finson, and boutique owner Sophia Max Brown. The Fashion Face judges will comprise several top agents flying in specially for the event,” Peters added.