Golden Idol 2008

It's true. I've entered another local karaoke contest. I promised myself I wouldn't do it any more, as sitting through all the other "singers" (I use that term loosely) is a huge waste of time.

Granted, the prize money keeps drawing me back. In this last contest (the qualifying round for Golden Idol 2008), I made $50 by coming in 1st place for the male singers. Not bad for 4 minutes of work. If there was a way to bring in the money without sitting through all the other singers (or waiting until midnight for the results), it'd totally be worth it.

Any ideas? The Semi-Finals are scheduled for September. Now, I just have to hope I'm not in New York during the next round. The contests may be a pain, but the prize money and the chance to sing is not.

American Idol: The Final Chapter

This time of year always brings a bit of fond memories and sadness to my life. Yes, I'm talking about that time-honored tradition of standing in line for hours on end, baking your brain and your vocal cords in the 1000 degree sun, singing for 15 seconds, only to be turned away in the largest scam ever pulled on America - The American Idol audition process.

Having auditioned twice for the show (once in 2003 and again in 2006), I can speak volumes about what is wrong with the show. Granted, as I sit here listening to Kelly Clarkson's third album, the show obviously works for some people. Kelly is probably the only one who has broken free from the AI juggernaut and created a name for herself away from the show. I give her plenty of credit for taking her time on the show and transforming it into a lengthy career.

The photograph to the right shows the beginning of the end for me. Danielle Livingston (middle) and Jeremy Shoop (far right) both auditioned for the show as well. Danielle has an amazing voice with incredible range, probably one of the best out of everyone I know (check out her MySpace page), yet she didn't make it through the first round. Jeremy, whom I've only heard with his band (Just Cause), has a decent voice, and he made it through to the third round of auditions. He was eventually turned away by Randy, Simon and celebrity judge, Olivia Newton-John.

Why? Who knows. Maybe he didn't have the right look, although Blake Lewis made it through. Maybe his back-story wouldn't be as heart-wrenching as Kellie Pickler's story. All I know is that when the audition process comes to San Diego at the end of the month, I won't be there. Will I lose any sleep over it? Nope. The giant casting call process known as American Idol can roll right on through California without me. I need to gear up for my cruise ship performances anyway...

2007 Seabee Days

I'm having one of those quandary days, and I need your help to figure out what I should do about it.

Last year, I entered into the 2006 Seabee Star karaoke contest. I had previously entered in 2004, but after making it to the finals, I didn't place in the top 3. I was puzzled, and thought there must be a fix on the contest. After entering last year, I again made it to the finals, and then went on to take home $300 for a first place win.

OK, so here's where you come in: Do I sign up for the 2007 Seabee Star karaoke contest to continue my reign as the Seabee Star, or do I skip it and allow someone else the chance at the title? I'm sure my biggest competitor, Joey (who has won every previous year) will be there to attempt to take the title. There was an angry mob from Joey's camp who wanted to pound me last year when he didn't even place in the top 3.

I've won several singing competitions, and I'm sure I could do just fine in the 2007 contest, but is it worth the time and energy? I have to make up my mind by June 15th (which is the deadline for registration), so I've got some thinking to do. I'd appreciate any input you could share. Go for the gold, or let someone else (i.e. Joey) have the glory?

American Karaoke Champs

To anyone in the Ventura area, feel free to come out on Saturday, March 24 from 9pm-1:30am at Golden China to help support me in the American Karaoke Champs competition.

I'll be performing one song, "At This Moment" by Billy Vera, and I'll have the opportunity before the song to talk about why I picked it and what it means to me.

The producers of this event will be filming the competition as footage for a show they're trying to sell to the networks. I'm assuming it'll run similar to American Idol, but with a different twist. I show up next Saturday at 8pm to go over the details. I won't know much more until then.

If you would like to go, here are the details:

Golden China Restaurant
760 S. Seaward Ave.
Ventura, CA 93001
(Click for a map)

American Karaoke Champs
Saturday, March 24 - 9pm-1:30am

NO CAMERAS OF ANY TYPE PERMITTED
$5.00 cover at the door

I look forward to seeing everyone there! Please come out and help cheer me on!

December 2006 Final Results

The results have been finalized, and I have officially been awarded third place for December 2006 in the Online Idols singing competition. This puts another $100 in my pocket for simply uploading a video of a song I sang at karaoke one night.

I figure I should give something back to those of you who helped put me into 3rd place, so if you're in the area, stop by and I'll buy you a coke. It'll have to be a small one. With over 1,100 views, I'll have to make sure I have enough for everyone.

I'm stepping out of the January 2007 competition, as I didn't want to ask everyone to continuously vote for me - month after month - so I'll take some time off. When I get another video uploaded, I'll let everyone know at that time. We'll make another run at 1st place and the $400 Grand Prize!!!

Online Idols

For those of you who know me, you know that I love to sing. Any chance I get. Seriously. If I could get away with singing in public restrooms without looking like a complete fool, I'd do it.

With the help of some friends who showed me the site, I've joined Online Idols. It's a website that hosts monthly competitions for anyone to showcase their talents (singing, juggling, dancing, short films, etc.). First prize is $400, Second prize is $200 and Third prize is $100. Not bad for uploading a video, and just sitting back to wait for viewers to vote.

That's where you come in! I need to you stop by OnlineIdols.com to vote for any of my videos. So far, my performance of "Give Me One Reason" is in the lead (out of my 3 videos) with 11 votes, so if you want to help push that one to the top, I'd appreciate it. You can click here to visit the On Stage section of the site, or you can click on the image to the right.

I currently have 3 videos online for voting purposes (Levon, At This Moment and Give Me One Reason), so chose your favorite, vote, and I'll post the results when they tally the votes at the end of January.

Contest Update

I competed in the 2006 Seabee Days Karaoke contest this past weekend, and I walked away with the 1st place prize.

During my qualifying round, I sang "At This Moment" by Billy Vera & The Beaters. Fortunately, the sound system was set up in a way that allowed me to head out into the crowd, which always helps during these competitions. The only problem with a song like that one is most people don't know it, so you really have to turn on the vocal talent to amaze the crowd. It's a song that fits my range, so I was pleased to be able to perform it.

After the qualifying round, they announced the finalists, and I was fortunate enough to be one of them. I made it to that point two years ago when I attempted this contest, but didn't make it into first, second or third place. Plus, a lot of the same singers were back this year, so I knew that I had my work cut out for me. Joey, the guy that I lost to during my performance two years ago, was performing again so beating him was tough.

During the finals, we were allowed to change our songs (which was not allowed two years ago), so I switched mine over to "Give Me One Reason" by Tracy Chapman. It's typically a crowd favorite, and I can give more soul than Taylor Hicks on his best day. The crowd joined me out on the grass for some dancing and fun, which allowed me to play up to the judges a bit. The dancer pictured to the right was my favorite, as she smiled and danced the entire time. I enjoy people who can get into it, without getting shy. It's one of the reasons I enjoy performing so much.

Perhaps one of my favorite things to try and do is forget the words, but continue on with the song so people don't realize what happened. I was fortunate enough to have that happen to me during my second song, but everyone I talked to didn't notice, so I was able to get away with it. So much for practicing...

After the finals were completed, we took a 10-minute break while they tallied the scores. The karaoke DJ called myself and Joey to the stage to sing a third song, so the crowd had someone to entertain them while they waited. Joey performed a song that seemed to go on forever. They had the scores done before he was even finished with his song, but they wanted me to sing again, so I performed "I'm Movin' On" by Rascal Flatts. It's a very touching song, that has some very personal attachments for me, so I enjoy introducing new people to it.

Once we were done, the hosts took the stage to announce the winners. The second and third place winners were called, and then they called me to the stage to receive the honor of being the 2006 Seabee Star, along with $300 in cash. It's one of the few times that I've won a cash prize for singing, and it feels great!

To everyone who supported me, thanks for your love! It was needed!