Idol Search Begins Monday
By NICHOLAS L. DEAN
6/30/2007 - BEMUS POINT — Chautauqua Lake Idol will begin its fourth year in Bemus Point on Monday, with organizer SE93 building upon all of the regional vocal competition's past successes.
And while the contest will be familiar to fans, the experience of performing before a crowd of thousands will be a first for this year's singers.
''I'm very excited and I'm very nervous because I usually just sing for my own self and my friends,'' said Andrea Bragg, a Frewsburg native who manages the newest E.B.E.'s Originals location in Lakewood. ''I've never had to perform in front of that many people, maybe 300 at the most.
''I tried out because of my mother,'' Bragg continued. ''I've been singing since I was about 10, in church and in musicals, and I've grown to love it. Music shows every emotion and it inspires. I'm thankful to my mom for making me do this. It's a new experience and it will be fun. Whether I stay in it to the end or not, either way it is going to be a great experience.''
Fast becoming a staple of summertime in Chautauqua County, Chautauqua Lake Idol was created and is organized each year by WWSE 93.3 FM — a Media One Group radio station. Known for its quality, the Chautauqua Lake Idol competition brings thousands of people from Western New york and Northern Pennsylvania into Bemus Point during July and August. On average 3,000 people or more line up along the Bemus Point shoreline each Monday night to see local contestants compete on the Floating Stage.
Whittled down from the many singers who auditioned on June 16 at the Chautauqua Mall, SE93's judges have picked a total of 20 conestants to begin the competition— the first 10 of whom will perform on Monday. According to Andrew Hill, Media One Group program manager and host of the event, the second set of 10 singers will perform on Monday, July 9.
See IDOL On Page A-7
After eliminating five contestants from each of the two groups, the competition's first of three theme nights will begin on July 23.
''We never thought that it would have taken off like this,'' Hill said of the event in May. ''By the second year, we realized that we had something going for us when they had to shut down the street between the Surf Club and the Floating Stage. We really knew we were on to something big in the third year because we had crowds that were almost as large as the annual Sunday Bemus Pops Events.''
The 2007 Chautauqua Lake Idol Regional Vocal Competition will take place on six Monday nights over the course of eight weeks. Following the July 2 and July 9 preliminary nights, there will be a ''Disco Night'' on July 23, a ''Christmas In July'' event on July 30 and a ''Remember When ...'' theme night on Aug. 6. The final night of competition is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 20, where one winner will be chosen from three finalists.
In addition to Bragg, the first group of singers is comprised of Parris Williams, Lydia Marks, Josh Monroe, Rich Beatty, Amara Offhaus, Ashleagh Suber, Jake Harvey, April DiTonoto and Kim Danna. Songs for the first round of competition range from contemporary hits by artists such as John Mayer and Christinia Aguilera to classics by Billy Joel and Pat Benatar.
''I've got to get all the dust off the vocal pipes,'' Beatty said about preparing for the first round of competition. Born in Seattle, Rich Beatty was raised in Atlanta and has been a Southern Chautauqua County resident for a year now. On Monday, he will perform the song ''Buy Me A Rose,'' which he says he will sing with inflections of both Kenny Rogers and Luther Vandross.
An alum of the same high school that graduated Travis Tritt, Beatty studied vocal performance and spent several years performing classic rock and country music — although it has been a decade now since he has done any real singing.
''The audition was pretty good and I did it at the urging of my wife and step-daughter,'' Beatty said. ''We didn't decide to do it until midnight the Friday before and when I got there, quite honestly, I wasn't really prepared for it. ... To get up there with no music and no guitar is hard. I've got a lot of respect for everybody who got up there to audition. It takes a lot of guts just to do that.''
Beatty's advice for the contest — ''Hope for the best, expect the worst and you won't be disappointed.''
Chautauqua Lake Idol events begin at 6:30 p.m. and typically run two hours. Singers scheduled to perform as part of round two on July 9 are Aletha Walters, Jeff Sanders, Amanda Oleshak, Katie Jacobs, Ben Blood, Jaala Fish, Eric Schwob, Michael Valvo, Stephanie Blake and Margaret Dickerson.
And while the contest will be familiar to fans, the experience of performing before a crowd of thousands will be a first for this year's singers.
''I'm very excited and I'm very nervous because I usually just sing for my own self and my friends,'' said Andrea Bragg, a Frewsburg native who manages the newest E.B.E.'s Originals location in Lakewood. ''I've never had to perform in front of that many people, maybe 300 at the most.
''I tried out because of my mother,'' Bragg continued. ''I've been singing since I was about 10, in church and in musicals, and I've grown to love it. Music shows every emotion and it inspires. I'm thankful to my mom for making me do this. It's a new experience and it will be fun. Whether I stay in it to the end or not, either way it is going to be a great experience.''
Fast becoming a staple of summertime in Chautauqua County, Chautauqua Lake Idol was created and is organized each year by WWSE 93.3 FM — a Media One Group radio station. Known for its quality, the Chautauqua Lake Idol competition brings thousands of people from Western New york and Northern Pennsylvania into Bemus Point during July and August. On average 3,000 people or more line up along the Bemus Point shoreline each Monday night to see local contestants compete on the Floating Stage.
Whittled down from the many singers who auditioned on June 16 at the Chautauqua Mall, SE93's judges have picked a total of 20 conestants to begin the competition— the first 10 of whom will perform on Monday. According to Andrew Hill, Media One Group program manager and host of the event, the second set of 10 singers will perform on Monday, July 9.
See IDOL On Page A-7
After eliminating five contestants from each of the two groups, the competition's first of three theme nights will begin on July 23.
''We never thought that it would have taken off like this,'' Hill said of the event in May. ''By the second year, we realized that we had something going for us when they had to shut down the street between the Surf Club and the Floating Stage. We really knew we were on to something big in the third year because we had crowds that were almost as large as the annual Sunday Bemus Pops Events.''
The 2007 Chautauqua Lake Idol Regional Vocal Competition will take place on six Monday nights over the course of eight weeks. Following the July 2 and July 9 preliminary nights, there will be a ''Disco Night'' on July 23, a ''Christmas In July'' event on July 30 and a ''Remember When ...'' theme night on Aug. 6. The final night of competition is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 20, where one winner will be chosen from three finalists.
In addition to Bragg, the first group of singers is comprised of Parris Williams, Lydia Marks, Josh Monroe, Rich Beatty, Amara Offhaus, Ashleagh Suber, Jake Harvey, April DiTonoto and Kim Danna. Songs for the first round of competition range from contemporary hits by artists such as John Mayer and Christinia Aguilera to classics by Billy Joel and Pat Benatar.
''I've got to get all the dust off the vocal pipes,'' Beatty said about preparing for the first round of competition. Born in Seattle, Rich Beatty was raised in Atlanta and has been a Southern Chautauqua County resident for a year now. On Monday, he will perform the song ''Buy Me A Rose,'' which he says he will sing with inflections of both Kenny Rogers and Luther Vandross.
An alum of the same high school that graduated Travis Tritt, Beatty studied vocal performance and spent several years performing classic rock and country music — although it has been a decade now since he has done any real singing.
''The audition was pretty good and I did it at the urging of my wife and step-daughter,'' Beatty said. ''We didn't decide to do it until midnight the Friday before and when I got there, quite honestly, I wasn't really prepared for it. ... To get up there with no music and no guitar is hard. I've got a lot of respect for everybody who got up there to audition. It takes a lot of guts just to do that.''
Beatty's advice for the contest — ''Hope for the best, expect the worst and you won't be disappointed.''
Chautauqua Lake Idol events begin at 6:30 p.m. and typically run two hours. Singers scheduled to perform as part of round two on July 9 are Aletha Walters, Jeff Sanders, Amanda Oleshak, Katie Jacobs, Ben Blood, Jaala Fish, Eric Schwob, Michael Valvo, Stephanie Blake and Margaret Dickerson.
For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com
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