Courtney Loves Cupcakes

When scouting for a great venue for Courtney Jonas to film her sermonettes, the first thing that came to mind was cupcakes and milkshakes. For those who know Courts, she loves all things girly! yup, she has a teeny tiny Chihuahua named Bella-Starlet, she loves cupcakes, always wears dresses, drinks pink milkshakes, has a pink Blackberry as well as a bright pink iPad (which she can't put down)... oh, and Bella-Starlet wears pink too...

I stole this pic from her FB page :)

I came across the gorgeous Succulent Cafe on 14th Avenue in Northcliff and fell in love with it. The bonus being it had Courtney's name written all over it and it HAD to be the setting for her sermonettes. 


The wonderful team at Succulent Cafe were extremely delighted to have us shoot at thir decadent cafe. Thank you to Cindy and Stella for hosting our team, we are all in love with your spot!


Here are some pics of Courts recording her sermonettes for iShine Season 2 that will air in Dec 2011 on One Gospel, Channel 331.

Designed to Shine Conference 2011... Behind the Scenes

Our very own Courtney Jonas is off to Europe!

Courtney Jonas

Local musicians Loyiso Bala and Courtney Jonas will be jetting off to Norway this month to collaborate with the Oslo Gospel Choir, one of Europe’s most successful choir outfits.

The choir has recorded 28 albums and sold over 1.5 million albums globally, and their new album will feature the distinguishable voices of Bala and Jonas.

“I feel honoured to have been chosen to sing alongside this prestigious choir, and truly understand why the world admires them so much”, says five time South African Music Award (SAMA) winner Bala.

Music greats such as Andrae Crouch, Albertina Walker, Pat Boone, Neil Sedaka, Delois Barrett Campbell of the Barrett Sisters, and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway have featured on the choir’s previous albums.

Jonas, who is well known for her performances on High School Musical and Evita, says “Words cannot describe the amount of excitement and adrenalin flowing through my body the moment I found out about going to Oslo and being the guest female lead vocalist on their next album.”

The album will be released at the end of November this year.

iShine Southern Starz: Season 2 Talent Search has begun

Integrity Media Africa and One Gospel are excited to announce Season 2 of ‘iShine Southern Starz’. The second season of the successful teen TV show will feature 7 new artists. If you are a talented Christian act, we are calling you!

It is obvious that Africa is fertile with talented musicians, singers and young bands and we want to give them an opportunity to showcase their talents! Are you under 30 years old? Are you a dancer, singer, in a band or group? Do you dream performing on TV? Then the iShine stage with bright lights and cameras is set up and waiting for you. Whatever the music genre, all you need to do is record yourself or your band performing, upload it online (on YouTube etc) and paste the link to your video on our Facebook page ‘iShine Southern Starz’ (www.facebook.com/iShineSA).

The top 14 artists will be chosen by the iShine judges, and the final 7 will be chosen by the public. The more likes on the videos will determine who performs on Season 2.

The competition offers the acts the opportunity to perform for a television audience, generating media attention and an alternative way for acts to gain exposure and develop their fan base. The top 7 will each receive music hampers from Integrity Africa, and the top act will be featured on the next iShine Southern Starz compilation CD.

Entries are now open, and the closing date is Friday 15 September 2011. Artists who are chosen will need to be available within the first 2 weeks of October. The performances will be recorded at Urban Brew Studios in Randburg.

Dont forget to tune into the iShine Hour with Connell Cruise and Courtney Jonas, on One Gospel (DSTV Channel 331) every Saturday morning from 8am to 9am for a full dose of music and interviews.

Practice hard, polish up and record your videos, we want to see what you have got.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Rules & Guidelines:

No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter

• Acts can be Singers, singer/songwriters or bands.
• You can write and perform your own music or perform covers, we are here to finding the next best thing.
• The competition is open to unsigned or signed artists.

TRAVEL: The top 7 artists will be required to be available in the first half of October to record their performances in Johannesburg for Season 2. Sponsors and Contest Parties shall

not be liable for any loss or injury resulting from participation in the Contest, acceptance or use of any prize, including any travel and accommodation costs related thereto, or any use of Entry.

TIMING: Contest begins on Wednesday, 27th July, 2011 and ends on 15th September, 2011 at 23h59.

HOW TO ENTER: To enter, up load the artist’s video online, YouTube preferably, then past the video link to the ‘iShine Southern Starz’ Facebook page (www.facebook.com/iShineSA). Entry must be in video format. Limit 1 entry per artist. The artist who loads the video, will get an inbox message on Facebook should their entry be successful.

ELIGIBILITY: ‘iShine Southern Starz Talent Search’ is open only to legal residents in Africa who as of time of entry are under the age of 30 years. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

JUDGING PROCEDURE: iShine Southern Starz judges will choose the top 14 acts, and the viewing public will judge and vote on entries based on who they would like to see performing on Season 2. Of the top seven finalists with the most ‘likes’ on their video link on the ‘iShine Southern Starz’ Facebook Page, they will perform two performances each on the TV show.

NOTIFICATION: Finalists will be notified by email on or around September 21, 2011.

MISCELLANEOUS: All submissions will become the sole property of Integrity Media Africa and One Gospel, which may reprint or otherwise exploit the entry in any manner, in any media. By submitting the entry, you agree that your name, voice, likeness and biographical data may be used by Integrity Media Africa and One Gospel for promotional and advertising purposes without compensation, unless prohibited by law. By participating in this contest, entrants and winner agree to abide by all contest rules and by decision of judges. Entrants and winner also agree to release Integrity Media Africa, and affiliated companies, and their respective agents, representatives, officers, directors and employees, from and against any claim, liability, loss or expense of any kind resulting from entry or participation in the contest or acceptance or use of the prize.

iShine - Episode 1 in Pictures (Theme: Gossip)

Hi iShiners,

Its been a crazy and wonderful few weeks leading up to the premier of iShine All Starz SA!

Dont forget to tune into One Gospel (Channell 331 on the remote) EVERY Saturday morning from 8am to 9am for a full dose of music, interviews, advice and most of all FUN. We want to hear from you!

Find us on Facebook & Twitter too, and connect. Send us questions & comments!

This one hour show, 'iShine All Starz SA' is divided into two segments:

1. iShine Knect 8AM - 8:30AM
Our friends from iShine Knect in the USA, connect with the tweens in SA, as we share our views on each weeks theme.

2. iShine Southern Starz 08:30AM - 9AM

SA presenters Connell Cruise & Courtney Jonas introduce us to local talented teens as they chat about what each weeks theme means to them.These talented artists will perform on the super funky and high tech 'iShineAll Starz SA' stage.

___________________________________________

If you did not catch last weeks episode, then this is what you missed out on:

1. OUR AMAZING PRESENTERS.... CONNELL CRUISE & COURTNEY JONAS:

Get to know more about them & their talents by clicking on their pages on the tabs above.

Connell Cruise - iShine All Starz SA Presenter

   





Courtney Jonas - iShine All Starz SA Presenter



2. Connell & Courtney made their way to the VERY beautiful & funky Rivers Church in Morningside Sandton, where they chatted to some of their youth group members in the 'Kids Zone' about GOSSIP!!

First some make-up, (it's not like they need it)...

Yes, Guys wear make-up...for TV that is.



Courtney Jonas getting some make-up on that already pretty face!



Rivers Church in Morningside, Sandton.

 3. In the meantime, Jasmine (from the USA) chatted about her life & singing career, as well as her take on Gossip...



4. Back home in SA, Courtney Jonas asked Connell Cruise what Gossip means to him, then decided it would be a good idea for South Africa to get to know her talented co-presenter better, and to see for herself just what he can do with his incredible passion for singing and piano.



Courtney interviews Connell



Smile for the camera!

Connell Cruise confidently jumped on the 'iShine All Starz SA' stage at Urban Brew Studios in Randburg, to perform a track titled 'So Small', a song that HE wrote about God's incredible power and might in his life.

Soon, this song will be found on Connell's debut album that he is currently in the process of recording! 

Connell Cruise prepping for his performance



Lights, Camera & Action!



The feedback that we got from viewers is that they had 'goosebumps' from watching him sing his heart out to God. This is what the experienced music journalist, Kerry-Anne Faller, had to say about it: Review of 'So Small'

NOW... hear it for yourself, click on the video below:

That was just a glimpse of what you can expect in a power packed hour when you tune in to 'iShine All Starz SA'.

THIS SATURDAY WE TACKLE THE SUBJECT OF MODESTY... AND OUR VERY OWN PRESENTER COURTNEY JONAS MAKES HER WAY ONTO THE iSHINE STAGE... YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS :) !

'Til then, keep shining!!

The Ishine All Starz SA Team