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Vermilion Idol winner announced

The girls stood ready for battle. It was not a shoot out at the OK Corral that they were attending, but a battle of mighty voices and steady composure. After weeks of practicing and performing, only four contestants remained.
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Final four Jessica Musgrove

The girls stood ready for battle.  It was not a shoot out at the OK Corral that they were attending, but a battle of mighty voices and steady composure.  After weeks of practicing and performing, only four contestants remained.

The lunch hour at Vermilion Forks School was to be the place for the noon hour showdown.  Grade 4 student Brooklyn Knopf was the first one up.  Though the youngest, her voice was powerful leaving no room to guess whether she had come to compete.  Knopf proved that good things come in small packages.  Her song choice was a perfect fit for her and she managed to keep on tempo and in tune all the way through.  Knopf’s performance was a good start to the competition and kept the audience thoroughly enthralled.

Next in the hot seat was Grade 7 student Jessica Musgrove.  Musgrove has a slightly raspy voice that was perfectly suited to her tough song selection.  She brought her A game to the finals staying calm, cool and collected under the mounting pressure.  Musgrove sang with confidence and comfort.  With two performances completed Musgrove and Knopf left the audience with some tough choices to make.

Laurenne Koller was the third contestant.  She grabbed hold of the mic with something to prove and laid it all out there singing The Climb by Miley Cyrus.  Koller hit the chorus and left no doubt that she wanted a win bad.  She projected her voice out to the crowd and back again.  Koller sang with gusto and enthusiasm from start to finish.

Last up was Kateri Barnes.  Barnes is slight of stature, but not slight of voice.  Her small frame disguised her singing talent like a cobra ready to strike.  Barnes opened her mouth and let the music take her to the top.  Her performance was enough to win the title of Vermilion Idol 2011.  Barnes impressed the audience receiving the most votes and the win.  “You have a very pretty voice,” stated Judge and Grade 7 teacher Shar Anderson.  “I really enjoyed listening to you sing.”

“I was very proud to be a part of this,” said Judge Anderson.  “There is a lot of talent in this school and it was wonderful to watch all the participants grow as the competition progressed.  The four standing here absolutely deserve to be before us in the finals.”

Judge and teacher Dave Brum received flowers for taking the time to help out as a judge for the Idol competition along with Shar Anderson and Similkameen Spotlight editor Dierra Maynard.  Brum said, “this was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed watching and listening to each and every one of you throughout this competition.”

Georgina Tarswell was thanked for pulling the contest off.  She spent many hours aiding the students who were competing.  Tarswell along with Travis Driver were instrumental in the event’s success.  “Travis thank-you so much for all your technical help,” said Anderson.  Secretary Kathy Koller was also a big help throughout the contest and received a gift of appreciation.

Brooklyn Knopf, Jessica Musgrove and Laurenne Koller were all second place.  Each of them received many votes from the audience, but not enough to win.  The three judges encouraged the girls to keep singing as they all had talent.  Although Musgrove wil be moving up to the high school next year, Koller and Knopff will be at Vermilion Forks again next year.  “You were great this year,” stated Maynard.  “I can’t wait to hear you next year.”