SF’s Got Talent contest winners open for Ryan Shupe
Utah County Daily Herald  •  Saturday, July 28, 2012  •  Rena Lesue-Smithey - Correspondent

SPANISH FORK -- Seven local vocalists and one duet performed before Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand in the new Spanish Fork rodeo arena on Friday. As part of the Fiesta Days celebration, the singers were the finalists in the Spanish Fork's Got Talent competition held on June 2. Propelled by the Fiesta Days' theme, "Dream Big," the finalists won an opportunity to open for Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand, two tickets to the concerts, and a chance to meet the band before the concert. The top three winners -- first place Erin Thomas, second place McKenna Thomas and third place Johnny Williams -- were selected immediately after their performance.

The Spanish Fork's Got Talent preliminary competition was held at the American Leadership Academy auditorium in June. Approximately 30 people showed up from all over central Utah to showcase their talent. Contestants were given two minutes to perform with a back-up track in front of a panel of three judges. The competition welcomed contestants from ages 5 to 75 with any vocal style. Although bands were not allowed to try out, duets and groups could compete.

Finalists included: Erin, 16, and McKenna Thomas, 18, sisters from Springville; Hayden Gillies, 16, Caitlyn Nixon, 15, Catelin Lundell, 14, and Johnny Williams, 46, from Spanish Fork; 9-year-old Layla Mackey of Sandy; and Michael Richardson, 18, from Elk Ridge, and Jillian Ormond,18, of Salem as the duet.

"The majority of contestants were between the ages of 14 and 22, but we do have a 9-year-old and a 46-year-old finalist," said Lew Woolford, a member of the Fiesta Days Committee. "They were also primarily from south county."

At Friday night's competition, three music professionals -- Randy Boothe, director of the Young Ambassadors at BYU, Rick Lunt, choral and show choir director at ALA, and Larry Blackburn, an opera and classical music teacher -- judged the eight finalists on talent, stage performance, appearance and audience appeal.

"The talent was really good, even for the younger ones, they had a tremendous amount of talent and training. These kids could sing. They were great," said Woolford.

Prior to Ryan Shupe taking the stage, Spanish Fork's Got Talent finalists each performed their own individual number. They were limited to three minutes to a background track.

"I was one of the last ones to audition in June, so I got to see most of the auditions," said Johnny Williams, before the concert. "They are really good. I was very impressed with some of their performances. This is the cream of the crop."

Williams, who came in third overall, is a singer and songwriter who goes by the stage name Johnny Dubyah, and was the oldest finalist in the competition. Professionally, Williams has worked in broadcasting and is currently a voiceover artist and actor, but he has been singing for over 20 years. On Friday night he sang an original song entitled, "Put Your Money on Me." As Johnny Dubyah he is working on a country album, "Me and You and a Hound Dog Too" with 10 to 12 original songs.

"I was the only one with an original song," said Williams, who grew up in North Carolina on a hog farm. "I picked a tongue-in-cheek, fun country song."

The finalists' experience in the music field varied. Nine-year-old Mackey had three years of training and placed first in the Vocal Sport competition in Provo. Nixon played Penny in "Hairspray" and the narrator in "Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" for Spanish Fork Community Theater. At the young age of 16, Thomas has already auditioned on Broadway in New York City and landed the leading role in "Anything Goes" at Springville High.

The Fiesta Days theme, "Dream Big," was named with permission after Ryan Shupe's 2005 album. Shupe, currently of Orem, started playing fiddle as a young boy. In college, he started the RubberBand, a bluegrass band, allowing members to rotate in and out. However, the current five, Shupe (fiddle, guitar, ukulele, lead vocals), Roger Archibald (guitar, vocals), Ryan Tilby (bass guitar, vocals), Craig Miner (banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, guitar, vocals) and Bart Olson (drums), eventually became permanent members. Shupe attributes some success to winning a community contest like Spanish Fork's Got Talent.

"When we first started out, we entered a band contest in Colorado. It was really good for us to have the opportunity to list the contest among our accomplishments when presenting ourselves at other festivals," said Shupe in support of the Spanish Fork's Got Talent competition.

The theme and the contest went hand-in-hand this year, and Woolford hopes the contest will become a long-standing tradition in Spanish Fork.