MAS: The Make A Star Rap Battle returned in January and Northern California rapper Boogie The Mann took the title thanks in part to the rapid-fire delivery seen in his video ‘Machine Gun Style’. Man of words that he is, BTM also gave us this great interview.

First off, tell us how it feels to have won. Are you happy, surprised, relieved?

Boogie The Mann: I was hoping I would win like all the other people in the contest. I was extremely happy with the outcome.

MAS: Tell us how you got started as a singer and how your recording career began.

Boogie The Mann: I used to pop back in the breakin days. My cousin had and still does have a DJ group in San Francisco so I joined with them and learned the Hip Hop ropes. He took me to my first studio session in 1989. I have been a member of the Midnite Cru Deejays ever since.

MAS: How did you develop your sound? Are you the primary songwriter, or is it collaborative?

Boogie The Mann: I write all my songs by myself. I was influenced by fast spitters Jaz-O and Jay-Z when he used to rap fast.

MAS: What’s the story behind the song you’ve entered in the Make A Star contest?

Boogie The Mann: Machine Gun Style is my most popular fast rap song I have. The video was spur of the moment. Even my cousin DJ Chill did not know I was going to make this video. But this song has done great for me and my live performances are even better,so I been told.

MAS: Which musical influences have other people compared you to?

Boogie The Mann: Being from Vallejo, California I have been compared to E-40 because of his fast rapping style. Twista, Busta Rhymes mostly are the people I am compared to.

MAS: What sets you apart from other artists in your genre?

Boogie The Mann: Great question. I don't spend all my rapping time in a song rapping fast. I slow it down then speed it up. To me, it’s boring to hear a rapper just rap fast and thats it. There’s more of an effect to fast rapping when you slow it down and speed it up .It makes it stand out more. I have songs with positive content with no fast rapping. Being a versatile rapper is very important but this fast rap is my thing.

MAS: Who do you get inspiration from or wish to emulate in music and life?

Boogie The Mann: Brotherhood between rappers who I dont expect to be in the same video or song. That inspires me. Hip Hop unity is very important. Great music inspires me. When it just comes together in a live performance or a song and you feel the vibe of what’s taking place regardless of what type of music it is. That’s my inspiration.

MAS: What are your musical plans for the year ahead?

Boogie The Mann: More videos. Visuals have been helping me a whole lot. More features. People have been emailing me and sending me messages on Facebook for a fast rap verse - and a new album before the year is out.

MAS: Who were your favorite musicians as a child? What was your first album or concert?

Boogie The Mann: As a child hmmmm, I remember listening to lots of classic rock on the radio when my mom would take me to school. That was before Hip Hop music. I can tell you my first album was Herbie Hancock "Rock It" remix by D.Saint. I used to play it on my moms TV that had a built in record player and 8-track. My first concert was Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force and the L.A. Dream Team.

MAS: What is the best and worst part about being a musician?

Boogie The Mann: The best part is being told by people that listen that they like my music. Performing is always fun. Building up my name so when I go out people know who I am, I like the fame too. Worst part is the struggle to get on top.

MAS: What is the best and worst part about the music industry today?

Boogie The Mann: Fads, when one comes out everyone who raps tries to follow. Everyone might as well have the same name. I like originality in music and vocals. Good part of the industry is that there is all kinds of outlets to get heard. The best rise to the top.

MAS: How does MakeAStar.com compare with other websites for music fans and musicians?

Boogie The Mann: It’s totally free. And it’s real easy to navigate this site. It has a nice layout. All my friends like this site.

MAS: A great interview from one of our best Rap Battle winners! Keep up the good work and hope to hear more good music and videos from you on MakeAStar soon. Thank you, but before we go, tell us something completely random.

Boogie The Mann: I'm hot like a jalepeno. It’s a scientific fact so it’s true.

MAS: Amanda Belle is our newest Female Solo Artist champion and a great new music discovery from Toronto, Canada. Her song “Hazy” is a catchy pop rock tune that is both accessible and edgy. True to her sound, Amanda gave us this fun and intelligent interview – check out what she has say.

First off, tell us how it feels to have won. Are you happy, surprised, relieved?

Amanda Belle: It feels fantastic to have won. I was totally surprised because the caliber of artists on this site is incredible, so I really wasn’t expecting it. I am very grateful to everyone who supported me with a vote. A giant THANK YOU to my supporters and to MakeAStar!!!

MAS: Tell us how you got started as a singer and how your recording career began.

Amanda Belle: Well if you ask anyone who knows me, I was born singing … literally. My family says I sang before I talked and that I would sing everything in a ‘regular’ conversation. Disney was the sh!t in my books back then! But I was too shy to perform in public. It wasn’t until one of my grade school teachers encouraged me to sing in the choir that I started to take singing lessons. I was already taking piano lessons (from about age 6), so adding vocals was easy. I never looked back from there. During my 2nd year in high school, the music department planned a trip to Europe. Singing helped me get there. During the year leading up to the trip, I entered any and every singing contest I could find, so you can say I sang my way to Europe. Shortly after one of these competitions, a producer who saw my performance contacted my family and expressed interest in working we me. This partnership allowed me to bring many of the songs there were in my head to life.

MAS: How did you develop your sound? Are you the primary songwriter, or is it collaborative?

Amanda Belle: I think my sound comes from my musical influences, which are so diverse. You’d be super surprised to see all the different music on my iPod. Everything from metal, dance, jazz, broadway, pop, rock, electronic … the list just goes on and on. Words are my thing, so I find lyrics writing to be most comfortable for me. On each of my songs, I did collaborate on the music and wrote the lyrics. I just find that a song is much more personal for me that way.

MAS: What’s the story behind the video you’ve entered in the Make A Star contest?

Amanda Belle: Hazy began as a title … that’s it. We came up with a melody very quickly. I remember sitting in one of my classes when I wrote the lyrics. They just flew out of my brain like a vivid story. The song is about being in love with someone who sends mixed signals or isn’t really sure about what they’re feeling, leaving the other person trapped in a “game”. Is it a personal story? Well that’s for me to know.

MAS: Which musical influences have other people compared you to?

Amanda Belle: Ahh, this question always makes me scratch my head. That’s because whatever the answer, there is going to be someone that says ‘are you nuts? go clean out your ears!’. People can argue that I sound like Avril Lavigne because yes, my songs are currently categorized as “Pop Rock” and I am a Canadian Singer/Songwriter. Others can argue that I sound like Amy Lee since some of my songs are a bit dark and I tend to dress a little edgy. But really, I am Amanda Belle and as much as these comparisons flatter me, there’s nothing that makes me happier than hearing that I sound like no one else.

MAS: What sets you apart from other artists in your genre?

Amanda Belle: I think my niche is honesty. I write what I’m feeling and what’s going on in my life rather than trying to match the current music trends or just having only a positive message or contrary message. Life is not all sunny days and flowers, nor is it doom and gloom all the time. Good and bad sh!t happens to us all, so I try to bring that to my music, with honesty.

MAS: Who do you get inspiration from or wish to emulate in music and life?

Amanda Belle: This is a loaded question and could literally take pages to answer. But I’ll keep it short. I get inspiration from almost anything. I could walk down the streets of Toronto and see a puppy prancing alongside its owner and write a song about that. I never know what will trigger my next song or lyric to be honest. My current musical inspiration is Rob Swire, yes I am obsessed with this man and his music!!! As for whom I wish to emulate in life, again keeping it short, any woman of strength. From the mom raising her kids on a tough budget to the woman standing in Parliament, fighting for her constituents. I want to be able to look back one day from wherever I am and say, it was a hard road, but I stayed strong and did it!

MAS: What are your musical plans for the year ahead?

Amanda Belle: I’m currently working on my music degree, so school is the focus. And I’m back in the studio working on new music, which I’m totally stoked about. I have a number of locals shows booked through to late spring, so I’m looking forward to those performances.

MAS: Who were your favorite musicians as a child? What was your first album or concert?

Amanda Belle: As a kid, anything Disney ruled my world! Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and the Vengaboys were huge when I was a kid. My first album was by Aqua, and the song I was obsessed with was Barbie Girl. My first real concert was Kelly Clarkson.

MAS: What is the best and worst part about being a musician?

Amanda Belle: The best part is the feeling and rush you get when you’re performing. There is nothing that compares! The interaction with your fans when you connect is beyond words. Being able to express yourself through a song is a unique experience that not everyone gets to have. But the worst part is the constant inner battle. Musicians are constantly faced with questions of doubt and the stress of earning a living as a musician or ‘making it big’. Musicians are also in a unique position in that to actually work, they need to be the extension of the instrument; be it your voice or your guitar, piano, drums, etc. It’s not like an office worker when a computer is broken. That office worker can just go get a new computer and continue performing their work. A musician can’t just go get a new voice, or get new fingers to express through their guitar so when things don’t quite go the way you want them to, it’s a personal disappointment you feel towards yourself. Nothing is more difficult than working with yourself when you’re pissed off at yourself. But on the flipside, there is no better stress relief than belting it out in a song. So, I guess it balances out.

MAS: What is the best and worst part about the music industry today?

Amanda Belle: The best part of the music industry is that it is constantly changing and evolving. But that is also the worst part. I think the music industry has changed so much recently and changed very drastically. I long for the days past when a musician’s success was based on talent and hard work. If you were very, very good at your craft, you were rewarded. My wish is that music fans begin to demand true talent from the artists they support. Put your money where your voice is, not behind auto-tune.

MAS: How does MakeAStar.com compare with other websites for music fans and musicians?

Amanda Belle: I was initially skeptical about putting up a song on MakeAStar. I had seen some other sites and those are usually listener driven, so it came down to how many people you could get to log in and vote for you. If you could get a lot of people to vote, bingo you win. The fact that MakeAStar has industry judges on board makes it a very unique and credible site for me. Sure the fans play a huge part but so do the judges and that kind of recognition is priceless. Also, the caliber of worldwide artists submitting to MakeAStar is some of the best I’ve seen and heard. I’ve spent countless hours on the site just being blown away by the music and videos. Truly talented musicians!!!

MAS: Thank you Amanda for such an engaging interview. Very well spoken on so many subjects – before we go, tell us your thoughts on one more completely random subject.

Amanda Belle: To make Pop Rocks, the hot sugar mixture is allowed to mix with carbon dioxide gas at about 600psi. The carbon dioxide gas forms tiny, 600psi bubbles in the candy. When you put the candy in your mouth, it melts and releases the bubbles. What you are hearing and feeling is the 600psi carbon dioxide gas being released from each bubble. Want some Pop Rocks???

MAS: From Moscow, Russia come the newest Duo or Band champions – TERRA Inc. Bringing hard alternative rock with heavy metal influences to the top of the charts with their song “Run Away”. Let’s take a look inside their brains and discover some of the secrets to their success.

First off, tell us how it feels to have won. Are you happy, surprised, relieved?

TERRA, Inc.: We’re of course very happy! There were several attempts and now we’re winners!

MAS: Is there an interesting story behind your band’s name?

Save Your Bullets: The name TERRA Inc. appeared many years ago when we were very young musicians and played in some garages. We had just learned a new latin word and we liked it. When we decided to join as current band content a couple years ago we decided to call the band TERRA Inc.

MAS: Tell us how you got started as a band and how everyone became a part of it.

TERRA Inc.: We started current project a couple years ago. Our guitarist is very talented and he’s my best friend, so we needed bass and a very cool and hard vocalist. The front man was a really big problem, but we’ve found him! We’re very happy to work together.

MAS: How did you develop your sound? Are you the primary songwriter, or is it collaborative?

TERRA Inc.: Our guitarist creates different riffs. After we (me – drummer and he) go to studio and create arrangements. After that when song almost ready – front man write the text – so, song is ready! We’re ready to go to studio and record it. As you can see we need about 3-5 days for creating one or two cool songs!

MAS: What’s the story behind the video you’ve entered in the Make A Star contest?

TERRA Inc.: The song was created like I described above. We needed hard, cool and hit song and we just made it.

MAS: How does MakeAStar.com compare with other websites for music fans and musicians?

TERRA Inc.: We think MakeAStar.com is a good site. I’d like to note a good site design and abilities.

MAS: Which musical influences have other people compared you to?

TERRA Inc.: A lot of influences… Black Sabbath, Velvet Revolver, Rolling Stones, Metallica and so on.

MAS: What sets you apart from other artists in your genre?

TERRA Inc.: We have no concrete genre. We create songs as things in themselves. If song starts to be very light – it’s OK! It will be light. A song is writing and in the process it can be filled with different shades. So we can’t say what style we do, but we have ability to save TERRA Inc.’s individual style despite songs different styles.

MAS: Who do you get inspiration from or wish to emulate in music and life?

TERRA Inc.: We get inspiration from the life and people and things around us. We don’t emulate somebody cause we’ve listened to very many different music and we write something we can’t listen and find from other bands.

MAS: What are you or your band’s plans for the year ahead?

TERRA Inc.: We very like to create songs so we plan a lot of work and clips making.

MAS: Who were your favorite musicians as a child? What was your first album or concert?

TERRA Inc.: Favorites were Black Sabbath, Guns’N’Roses, Metallica, Rolling Stones. One of the first album was Paranoid (Black Sabbath) and one of the first concert was Deep Purple in Moscow.

MAS: What is the best and worst part about being a musician?

TERRA Inc.: Best part is a state of mind and this great and beautiful work which we do. Worst is limited time and money.

MAS: Thank you to all the cool guys from TERRA Inc. for this awesome interview! Hope to hear more of your music here on MakeAStar soon. Have a great 2012 and before we go, tell us something random.

TERRA Inc.: Keep rockin’ and just be a good and responsive people. Thanks.

MAS: Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Save Your Bullets. This merry band of nascent rock stars are the newest Make A Star Music Video champs, taking the November 2011 prize with the music video for “Hot Mess in a Dress”. Joining us Phoenix, Arizona, let’s take a peek inside the Save Your Bullets superbrain.

First off, tell us how it feels to have won. Are you happy, surprised, relieved?

Save Your Bullets: We were so stoked. We put in a lot of hard work getting out there so it is so exciting when work does finally pay off!

MAS: Is there an interesting story behind your band’s name?

Save Your Bullets: It was the only that could past our harsh obstacle cores and tests. Trust me we had a list of them too.

MAS: Tell us how you got started as a band and how everyone became a part of it.

Save Your Bullets: Trexten the drummer was found by a producer in LA and was told to form a band for his project. He then got his good friend ELI to join and they found their last member “Leupp” from the safest place in the world “Craigslist.” After the three got together they then later decided to go their own direction and parted ways with the producer thus save your bullets was born and hasn’t stopped since.

MAS: How did you develop your sound? Are you the primary songwriter, or is it collaborative?

Save Your Bullets: What really clicked is we all had similar taste in the direction we wanted to go and we know where we want to go with our sound. Leupp came in with a bunch of his own material ready like “Hot Mess in a Dress, Chick flick Universe, and Caffeine” but they also collaborated like with songs Time Stands Still and Sorry for the Lies.

MAS: What’s the story behind the video you’ve entered in the Make A Star contest?

Save Your Bullets: Our song Hot Mess in a Dress was such a big hit it was such a demand that a music video be made. Luckily with Eli and Leupp’s film background the lack of a budget didn’t stop the quality.

MAS: How did the concept for the music video come together?

Save Your Bullets: It was created around the story of the song where girls really try hard to impress others. All the partying and crazy effects come out naturally of course.

MAS: What other music video direction work have you done in the past?

Save Your Bullets: We were the visionaries of this music video. Eli has done a bunch of youtube spoofs while Leupp has done other music videos and even a feature film. Also the director “Enzo Trappa” was directing a film at the time called Billy Syko that had Leupp in the cast.

MAS: How does MakeAStar.com compare with other websites for music fans and musicians?

Save Your Bullets: MakeAStar.com makes it easy to track views and votes based on everything from breakdowns to age and location. It is really unique and fun to see where exactly the support is coming from.

MAS: Which musical influences have other people compared you to?

Save Your Bullets: A lot of people say that we are something very unique and different which is why they like us, but actually bands we got were sounds like “A Day to Remember” “All Time Low” and “Blink 182.”

MAS: What sets you apart from other artists in your genre?

Save Your Bullets: Brandon Bias Executive Producer, Co- Founder, and great friend of the band says “they are the best and only ones in their genre called Pop-Corn, because not only do I say this with confidence of inventing this genera around Save Your Bullets, I know this with my heart.”

MAS: Who do you get inspiration from or wish to emulate in music and life?

Save Your Bullets: To get chicks.

MAS: What are your thoughts on music videos? The ideas, the production, working with directors, how they add to the song, etc…

Save Your Bullets: Music videos put the vision to music or in some cases tell the story in a different way. Without them we are nothing.

MAS: What are you or your band’s plans for the year ahead?

Save Your Bullets: Our band’s plan after winning this contest is to obviously go to Disneyland, but after that take the prize money and take over the world.

MAS: Who were your favorite musicians as a child? What was your first album or concert?

Save Your Bullets: Probably row row row your boat, or day light comes and me want to go home… no wait twinkle twinkle litter star!!!

MAS: What is the best and worst part about being a musician?

Save Your Bullets: The worst part is that business side and trying to fund the project and ideas to make them happen. The best part is doing them.

MAS: What is the best and worst part about the music industry today?

Save Your Bullets: The worst part is that there really isn’t much of an industry anymore since music is free. If it weren’t for contests like MakeAStar.com and the promotion it brings a lot of independent bands would have nothing to fuel their drive.

MAS: Save Your Bullets, thank you for the snarky, hilarious and very cool interview! Before we go, here's one more chance to tell us something completely and utterly random.

Save Your Bullets: Some chick gave her sunglasses to Leupp while they were on stage at the state fair.

MAS: Congrats to No BS! on their victory in the October 2011 Music Video contest! The young but old-school, authentic brass band from Virginia mixes classic New Orleans sounds with modern east coast funk. The music video for “2 The Day” was directed by Shaun Lilley, who joins us today representing the band.

First off, tell us how it feels to have won. Are you happy, surprised, relieved?

No BS!: We are all very happy to have won as No BS! has a lot of support from its community. I cannot say that I am surprised as No BS! is a band unlike any other that I have ever come across, but there was some close competition from the other videos entered.

MAS: What’s the story behind the video you’ve entered in the Make A Star contest?

No BS!: The video for “2 the Day” is about the band playing around their hometown of Richmond, Virginia and their street performance bringing the city together into a parade of fans in the newly seen flash mob sense.

MAS: How did the concept for the music video come together?

No BS!: I created the concept for this video when there was an annual demonstration that the band would be leading. I figured when else would I get the chance to have about 200 free extras in one of my videos.

MAS: What other video work has the music video’s director done in the past?

No BS!: As a director I have done many different types of projects. I usually do horror related short films that play at film festivals around the country. But I began working with the No BS! Brass Band after working on music videos for bands such as GWAR and Municipal Waste with Fangoria Entertainment. I believe that a great band such as No BS! deserves to have expensive looking videos even though there is not a record label throwing away tons of money to get these made. So all No BS! videos have been made entirely through volunteer work and a grand total of 0 dollars showcasing the emerging talents of Richmond Virginia both in front of and behind the camera.

MAS: That’s some great credentials. GWAR, wow, what a visually amazing group those guys are. How does MakeAStar.com compare with other websites for music fans and musicians?

No BS!: Make a star.com is unlike any site I have come across and it is refreshing to see videos doing well not just by the amount of facebook fans a band has, but real judges looking at our work as both the band and I have put a lot of our free time into these projects without promises that the videos would amount to anything.

MAS: Thank you for a short but fantastic interview Shaun Lilley. We wish you and No BS! great success in the future and hope to see more of your work on MakeAStar soon!

Congrats to all the $100 winners of the January 2012 brackets!

Music Video : Aydilge "Geri Dönmem"

Aydilge are a pop rock band from Istanbul, Turkey. Their music video for "Geri Dönmem" is a splendid visual feast that can’t be missed.

Female Solo Artist : Amanda Belle “Hazy”

Amanda Belle's song 'Hazy' hit the top of this month's chart. Take a listen to the winning song from this talented Toronto, Canada singer.

Male Solo Artist : Dillon Jones “Welcome Home”

Dillon Jones is the singer of the Minnesota rock band Love Out Loud. He ventures on his own and reaches the top with "Welcome Home".

Duo or Band : Boiling Point “Brand New Day”

This powerful uplifting rock anthem 'Brand New Day' takes the prize for the Minnesota based group Boiling Point.

Instrumental : LiL*LuLu “Moonlight Dancing”

The Montreal, Canada based singer and songwriter LiLLuLu rises to the top of the instrumental category this month with another of her signature exotic, electronic world beat rhythm pieces.

Rap Battle : Boogie The Mann “Machine Gun Style”

From Ceres, in northern California, Boogie The Mann's 'Machine Gun Style' shows off his rapid fire lyrical skills and earns him the Rap Battle title.

Congrats to all the $100 winners of the December 2011 brackets!

Music Video : Mars & Venus "Shades of White"

Mars & Venus are five best friends from Edmonton, Canada who’ve captured the music video title with their eclectic mix of rock, alternative and post-punk music. The “Shades of White” video showcases a tight rock band on the rise.

Female Solo Artist : Killian “This Life”

Killian is a country recording artist from Phoenix, Arizona. “This Life” shows her songwriting craft has unlimited talent and could keep her in the spotlight for a long time to come. Already with over five thousands likes on facebook, her following is strong and growing.

Male Solo Artist : Dayda Bass “Bar & Dance Floor”

Dayda Bass is one of MakeAStar’s champions of the 2011. The rising star from Los Angeles blends a smooth flow with club-ready hooks into his raps. This cut from his upcoming independent album gave him his fourth title of the year.

Instrumental : Marco Maenza “Dust's Heart”

Marco Maenza takes his second title in the popular Instrumental category. The Italian guitarist turns in an epic performance on his Gibson Les Paul in this 9/11 tribute song “Dust’s Heart”.

Duo or Band : TERRA Inc. “Run Away”

TERRA Inc. formed in Moscow, Russia in 2010 and have already achieved a polished, unique hard rock sound. “Run Away” took them to the top of the charts in December.

Congrats to the latest $100 winners of our November 2011 brackets!

Music Video : Save Your Bullets “Hot Mess in a Dress”

Save Your Bullets are a young but polished alternative rock band from the valley of the sun known as Phoenix, Arizona. They survived a tough money bracket competition to win the coveted music video title and the $100 cash prize. Expect great music to come from Save Your Bullets and enjoy their video for "Hot Mess in a Dress" today!

Female Solo Artist : Charlotte Forbes “Electricity”

Charlotte Forbes is another young talent emerging from our worldwide competitions to rise to the top this month. From Vancouver, Canada, Charlotte's winning song 'Electricity' is an infectious dance-floor anthem with a great melodic hook. It sounds like a Billboard hit but she's unsigned - labels take notice.

Male Solo Artist : Jubal Vaughn “Love-Live”

The positive vibrations of reggae and dancehall music are the trademark of New York's Jubal Vaughn. Fill your December with the sunshine of his winning song 'Love-Lite'.

Instrumental : Gylepomp “Tranquilized”

Or you can drift off into the relaxing, moody atmosphere of German songwriter Gylepomp's "Tranquilized". Has Brian Eno heard this great piece of instrumental music which won Gylepomp his second title this year?

Duo or Band : Bare Wires “Blues Go Away”

Idaho rockers Bare Wires serve up classic bluesy electric guitars. The soul of rock and roll burns bright in them and they take their second Duo or Band title this year for "Blues Go Away"

Sing in 30 Seconds : Creative 1 sings Eric Clapton "Change The World"

Detroit is the home of Motown and Creative 1 carries on the soulful tradition with aplomb. He turns in an amazing rendition of Eric Clapton's 'Change the World' complete with some visual effects guaranteed to put a smile on your face. He's our 'sing off' a cappella winner this month!

Congrats to the latest $100 winners of our October 2011 brackets!

November contest brackets are scheduled to start Thursday, November 3rd at noon pacific time. There’s still time to enter as a contender and qualify, so enter today and get your friends and fans to vote for you.

Music Video : No BS! “2 The Day”

No BS! is a powerful brass band that embraces the spirit of New Orleans in an original East Coast modern funk sound. First-time Make A Star winners on their first attempt, check out the fun music video for “2 The Day”

Female Solo Artist : Carrie Davis “Missing You Night”

Country singer Carrie Davis returns to the winner circle this month with an unprecedented sixth title. Check out her latest winning song “Missing You Night”.

Male Solo Artist : Dayda Bass “I Can’t Be Topped”

Dayda Bass returns to the winners’ circle again, claiming his second Male Solo Artist title, this time for “I Can’t Be Topped”. Check out the Los Angeles rap star’s latest hit.

Instrumental : Lenny Fleming “Thank You Lord”

Lenny Fleming of New York City returns to the Instrumental top spot, winning for the smooth reggae groove of “Thank You Lord”.

Duo or Band : S-1 Operations “S-7 holding back the rain”

Rock band S-1 Operations claim their 3rd win of 2011 and 6th in the past two years for “Holding Back The Rain”

Stand Up Comic : Dave Greilach

Dave Greilach is this month’s stand up comic winner – check out the very funny routine of this Huntington Beach, CA based comedian.

Congrats to all of our new September $100 winners!

October contest brackets are scheduled to start Thursday, October 6th at noon pacific time. There’s still time to enter as a contender and qualify, so enter today!

Music Video : Franco Paletta and the Stingers “I Can’t Stand It!”

Blues band Franco Paletta and the Stingers win their second music video title of 2011 with the help of Spleengene Animation video direction.

Female Solo Artist : Carrie Davis “Another Heart To Break The Fall”

Country singer Carrie Davis returns to the winner circle this month with an unprecedented fifth title. Check out her latest winning song.

Male Solo Artist : Marco Maenza “Stone House of Blues”

Italian blues guitarist Marco Maenza represents Europe on Make A Star this month as the top Male Solo Artist.

Instrumental : LilLuLu “Afghanistan Sunsets”

Montreal’s LilLuLu returns to the top spot for this first time in over a year, winning with her unique style of exotic world dance music.

Duo or Band : Orange Juice “Confusion”

Orange Juice are a first time winner! A fitting name for a band from Florida, Orange Juice vault themselves into the spotlight with this laid back guitar track.

Stand Up Comic : Donald Lett

Donald Lett is this month’s top comedian – check out his hilarious stand up routine recorded live at the Comedy Store.

Sing in 30 Seconds : Creative 1

Creative 1 is another first time winner, as the Detroit, Michigan native wowed the judges and voters with his rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet”

Rap Battle : Micah Shawn

The first Rap Battle contest in several months was won by first time winner Micah Shawn, with this smart piece of concious freestyle rap from Tennessee.