The public has spoken. The names of the Final Five have been decided in The Big Break, presented by Hot Press and brought to you by ALCATEL ONE TOUCH.

It's been a rollercoaster ride, with the votes pouring in, in their tens of thousands, from all over Ireland and further afield. Well, yesterday the shutters went down, bringing the public vote to a close.

We are pleased to announce that the following artists are the contenders still in the running, as we enter the final stage of The Big Break. Fanfare of trumpets please - can we hear it for, in strictly alphabetical order:

Kodakid, Katie Laffan, Miracle Bell, The Scenes and Third Smoke.

"This is a very tough moment for those artists who are not going forward to the final stage of the competition," said Mark Hogan of Hot Press. "All 30 bands and artists put a huge amount of work into ensuring that their fans came out in force - which indeed they did.
The standard of the entries was so high that it was inevitable that great artists would be disappointed, and the intense voting reflected that. But what we can say for sure is that the five that are still in the race are really special."

"We want to say a big thanks to every single artist among the huge number that entered," Hot Press editor Niall Stokes added. "It is in the nature of a competition like this that there is heartbreak and disappointment. But, in truth, to have reached the shortlist of 30 is a triumph for all of the artists who made it that far. Because the truth is that a lot of very good bands - and indeed some very well known artists - had to be omitted even at that stage.

"We have huge faith in a number of the artists and bands that didn't squeeze into the final five. I don't want to single anyone out,but some of them are very young and so I think it's fair to say that their time will come. And others are more mature and currently producing truly outstanding music that they are entitled to feel very proud of. This is what being a musician is all about. We salute them all."

"We were thrilled with the quality of the final thirty acts," Tracey Hudson of ALCATEL ONE TOUCH said. "I knew that Ireland was a supremely musical place but even still we were wonderfully impressed at the incredible strength-in-depth of the artists and the bands that entered The Big Break. Everyone on the shortlist of thirty fully deserved their place there. But to have made it into the Final Five is a truly outstanding achievement."

The 'Final Five' artists will submit two additional tracks for consideration by the judges and the ultimate winner of The Big Break, brought to you by ALCATEL ONE TOUCH, will be announced in the next issue of Hot Press.