After two months of competition amongst hundreds of talented young singers from all over Southern California and other states, the judges have spoken and 24 finalists remain.
SOCAL ICON, the solo vocal competition for singers between the ages of 7 and 18, has completed the Semi-finals round of its seventh annual singing contest. During the month of June, auditions were held at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and The Village at Orange. Hundreds of young singers competed in three age divisions (7-10, 11-14 & 15-18.) Contestants sang acapella for up to one minute before receiving feedback from judges that included music educators, producers, and industry veterans. The judges then narrowed the field to those who would go on to the semifinals events.
On July 26th, at The Music Hall in Anaheim; the semifinalists competed in front of a different set of judges and a live theater audience before the top seven in each age category were selected. The competition was so stiff in the 11-14 age division that judges opted to choose 10 finalists instead of only 7.
From here, the finalists will move on to a final concert event on Saturday, September 6th at The Margaret A. Webb Theater in Santa Ana. The contestants will each sing with a background track for up to 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Three celebrity/industry judges will give feedback and then help to choose one winner from each age group.
This year's judging panel includes:
· Alison Court Goodman – Assistant director and choreographer Alison Goodman has played an integral part in Disneyland's Pixar, Christmas, Soundsational, and Electrical Parades, as well as the shows: Fantasmic!, elecTRONica, and Playhouse Disney Live. She was an assistant director/choreographer for Disney Livethat toured Europe, Asia, and the US. For six years, Alison was a Rockette at the Radio City's Christmas Spectacular in New York, opening theMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and appearing on the Tonight Show (her first appearance on the tonight show was as a Dolly Parton dancer). She has performed as Princess Zubideya inKismet, Graziella in West Side Story, and in shows such as Oklahoma, Singing in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and many more. Alison began her performing career as a member of The Young Americans. She has a BA in Theater Arts from UCLA. Alison was also the assistant producer of the movie, "Cold in the Ground", and worked as Michael J. Fox's assistant at Paramount Studios.
· Mark L. Walberg— Mark began his television career working for veteran personality Dick Clark, for Dick Clark Productions in 1985, just a few years before moving on to host a sports magazine program for ESPN. He was known to audiences as the announceron the long-running TV series Shop 'til You Drop from 1991 to 1994, forLifetime Television. Mark has served as the host of game shows: Temptation Island, Free 4 All, The Big Date,Russian Roulette, Fox Television's "The Moment of Truth", PBS's "Antique Road Show". Mark is on the board of directors of Goodwill of Southern California and the internationally-acclaimed group The Young Americans as well as the board of managers of the Hollywood/Wilshire YMCA. In addition to his TV-hosting and producing experience, Mark is an accomplished singer and instrumentalist and has worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment all over the world.
· Thomas Barsoe is a singer/songwriter/producer from Copenhagen, Denmark. After graduating from St. Anne's College of Music and Performing Arts in Denmark, he moved to London. In 2004, he signed a recording contract with music giants EMI, and in 2005 his debut solo album 'Better Man' was released in 21 countries worldwide. 'Better Man' sold over one million copies and reached number one in the charts in Japan, the world's second largest music market. In 2007, his highly anticipated follow-up album, 'Read Between the Lines' was released. Both his new album and single 'Let the World See I'm Crying' also hit number one on the Japanese charts. In 2011, Thomas Barsoe was nominated for the prestigious 'Freedom to Create' award for his charity single, for the Tsunami victims of Japan, 'If We Stand Together'. His lifelong dream of opening his own music academy dedicated to discovering and developing young singers and songwriters came true in 2010. That dream is now called the OC Hit Factory.
· John Lindahl – John is Singer, Dancer, Musician who was once a 2009 contestant for ICON. He went on to appear on 'X Factor'. Afterward, Epic Records honcho L.A. Reid (and 'X Factor" judge at the time) immediately signed Lindahl to a sweet 5-album deal. He's been in the studio working on his first release with top producers and collaborating with Justin Timberlake, among others.
The judges' votes will count as 40 percent of the total tally while the audience will cast votes that account for the remaining 60 percent. The three winners will be crowned immediately following the tabulation and awarded prizes that include:
· 1 Fully-Produced, Mixed and Mastered Single with Record Producer Thomas Barsoe at The OC Hit Factory
- A recording session with Thomas Barsoe at OC Hit Factory
- Admission to an OC Hit Factory Songwriting Camp to collaborate with other signed artists
- $500 credit to use towards music lessons at OC Music Hall
- Branding Photo-shoot provided by DNT Entertainment
- Social Media Branding Package provided by DNT Entertainment
- Electronic Press Kit provided by DNT Entertainment
- Booking 1 Sheet provided by DNT Entertainment
- Potential Artist Management Opportunity ( DNT & OCHF)
- A Spot on DNT Entertainments' artist booking roster alongside signed artists and past reality singing competition finalists
- Trophy (ICON Performing Arts)
The guest performers for the concert event are both incredible young talents who already making a name for themselves in the industry. Opening the show will be SOCAL ICON 2012's winner in the 11-14 age group, Natalia Loya. Natalia returns fresh from making it to the top 3 on "Las Voz for Kids" (the Spanish version of "The Voice") on Telemundo this year. Before the awards ceremony, there will be a short set performed by Christopher Hayzel. Christopher is the sum of a family bathed in musical talent. He grew up immersed in artistic culture; from being in the studio with his father, Howard Hewett (Shalamar) to being on TV and movie sets with mother Nia Peeples (Fame, Walker-Texas Ranger, Pretty Little Liars). Armed with nothing more than a guitar, a bass, and a couple of key electronics, he will offer an intriguing live experience and a new approach to the world of "looping", building each song piece by piece right before the audience's eyes.
This year's Finalists are:
7 to 10 AGE DIVISION
· Kristen Chan -10 - Murrieta
· Mira Doan - 9 - Eastvale
· Kaysee French - 8 - Temecula
· Analise Hoveyda - 10 - Downey
· Olivia Knox - 9 - Yorba Linda
· Freddy Pomee - 10 - Fontana
· Thalia Tran - 8 - Mission Viejo
11 to 14 AGE DIVISION
· Samuelu Fesili - 13 - Oceanside
· Jessie Franks - 11 - Sierra Madre
· Isabella Knipp - 13 - Murrieta
· Katy Litwiller - 13 - Mesa
· Jaired Mason - 12 - Riverside
· Madison Miller - 11 - Anaheim
· Gabrielle Neeley - 12 - Yorba Linda
· Sophia Ramos - 12 - North Las Vegas
· Danielle Williams - 13 - Granada Hills
· Iris Zietlow - 11 - Murrieta
15 - 18 AGE DIVISION
· Kylie McFarland - 16 - Vandenberg AFB
· Joseph Silva - 15 - Reseda
· Autumn Stewart - 15 - Chino Hills
· Talia Stewart - 17 - Villa Park
· Janet Li - 15 - Irvine
· Kayla Wandelt - 15 - Anaheim
· Moxy Anne - 16 - Costa Mesa
Many of SOCAL ICON's past winners and finalists have gone on to garner national attention and success, including:
· 2011's 15-18 winner, Xenia Martinez made it to the top 3 of NBC's "The Voice"
· Emma Howard (finalist in 2009) is now a Broadway veteran that co-starred in the 2013 Tony Award-winning musical "Matilda" as Hortensia.
· Arianna Afsar (2008 Finalist) was Miss California 2010 and a 2009 top-30 finalist on American Idol
SOCAL ICON is produced by ICON Performing Arts. The Eastvale-based arts organization's mission is to use the performing arts to positively impact young people and communities by providing unique, positive and professional performance and arts education opportunities.
The show is open to the public. More info atwww.socalicon.com
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