WIESBADEN, Germany - It's all about the blues for Wiesbaden's Operation Rising Star winner.
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Everytime Erin Sataloff took the stage, the judges were blown away by her controlled tempo and throw-back to a jazzy-era of music.
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Her rendition of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" ended the first round of competition on the highest of notes.
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She gave the judges chills with her sultry performance of "You Give Me Fever."
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And Rising Star judge Master Sgt. Mark Jordan noted she controlled the room when she sang Etta James' "At Last."
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But winning first place at the garrison-level competition, taking home a $500 check and being pushed through to the Army-wide competition aren't what Sataloff ever expected.
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Last year Sataloff, a specialist with Company C, 1st Military Intelligence Battalion, 66th MI Brigade, was diagnosed with and battling thyroid cancer.
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Patting her throat, she said, "Even now my voice still gives me a little bit of trouble."
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Choosing songs that showed off her vocal control without straining her voice, Sataloff stuck to the blues - and it paid off.
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Before Operation Rising Star the closest experience Sataloff had to competing in a singing competition was belting out her jazz and country favorites in the shower.
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And for the 23-year-old Soldier who lives in the barracks, she's certain her neighbors can hear her, though no one has ever said anything to her.
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But it was her friends who encouraged her to get on stage that first night in August at the Wiesbaden Community Activity Center.
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"I am completely surprised," Sataloff said as she sat down, placing her giant $500 check on her lap.
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Over the course of four weeks and three nights of performances, the three-judge panel narrowed the 18-contestant competition to the top eight and then to the winning three.
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The second-place prize of $250 went to Samantha Werner who wowed crowds for three weeks with her country music selections.
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The third-place prize of $100 went to Ruby Grijalva who sang songs by Alicia Keys for the last two performances.
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Sataloff advances to the Army-wide finals by submission of a video of her performance. A winner from each of the 47 competing installations will submit an entry.
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Twelve finalists will be selected from the videos and move on to the live finals at the Wallace Theater at Fort Belvoir in Alexandria, Va.
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The grand prize includes an all-expense-paid trip for four to Los Angeles and time in a recording studio for the creation of a demo CD.
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The trip also includes vocal coaching, professional arrangement, sound engineering and tickets to a late-night talk show.
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