Two Williams Lake singers competed in the 2011 Canadian Karaoke World Championship finals held at the Edgewater Casino in Vancouver on July 21.
Erin Korthius and Les Anderson from Williams Lake were among the 12 women and eight men competing in the finals, which started with on-line song submissions to MeAndMic.com between May 15 and June 28, says event spokesperson Jaxon Hawks.
“Both Williams Lake competitors were a mere few points from moving on from their first rounds,” Hawks says.
Hawks says three rounds of competition saw the judges cut the finalists down to three women and three men.
In a surprise twist, Hawks says the fan favourite vote from the audience came to a tie.
Hawks says the crowd called for a “sing off” but the judges opted to allow both a male and females to compete in the final round: Jayleen Stonehouse of Vancouver; Kirsten Durand of Coquitlam; Jillian Mandy Hart of Richmond; Jerrica Santos of Surrey; Matt Briard from Richmond; Frankie Cena of Burnaby; Denis Berg of Maple Ridge; and Trevor Dunn of Whistler.
In the end Trevor Dunn was awarded the Top Male Canadian Champion, and Jerrica Santos the Top Female Canadian Champion. Both winners will go on to compete in the 2011 Karaoke World Championships in Kilarney, Ire. Sept. 8-10.
Both competitors received a one year gold membership to MeAndMic.com, vocal training from RSA Academy, a JM-5 from Roland Canada, airfare to Killarney, Ire. and accommodation at the I.N.E.C. Convention Centre and $500 spending money to represent Canada against 20 other countries at the 2011 Karaoke World Championships.
Hawks says that while this is only the second year Canada has participated in the Karaoke World Championships, the competition itself has been held in various host countries for nine years running.
Hawks says MeAndMic.com, which organized the Canadian event with help from sponsors, is the world’s first fully integrated singing social network, featuring profiles, a downloadable karaoke studio, and a competition feature.
For more information on the site go to www.meandmic.com
Partial proceeds from ticket sales to the main event were donated to the Vancouver Adapted Music Society.
Vancouver Adapted Music Society (VAMS) was co-founded in 1988 by Sam Sullivan and Dave Symington and focuses on helping musicians with disabilities.