Thirteen Soldiers sing for Military Idol honors

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Army News Service, Nov. 1, 2006) - Army Knowledge Online is your ticket to watch the competition and help select the second Military Idol.

Thirteen Soldiers are competing through Nov. 5 at Wallace Theater on Fort Belvoir, Va., for the title of Military Idol, a singing contest based on the premises of FOX Television's "American Idol."

Details on how to watch the competition and vote for your favorite performer are available at <a href = "http://www.armymwr.com/portal/recreation/promotions/militaryidol/">www.militaryidol.com</a>.

Finals week began Monday with two closed-set shows, taped for webcast via streaming video on AKO. The contestant field was trimmed from 13 to six during a cappella, first-round elimination performances.

The first show will be available for viewing on AKO beginning 9 a.m. today. The second session will be posted on AKO at 9 a.m. tomorrow. To avoid spoiling those shows for viewers, the six semifinalists will not be revealed until around noon tomorrow.

The six semifinalists were selected by Military Idol judges Jack L. Tilley, the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army; Debra Byrd, vocal coach and arranger for "American Idol;" and Grammy award winning country music artist Michael Peterson, best known for "I am a Soldier" and "From Here to Eternity."

Miss Virginia 2006, Adrianna Sgarlata, is the emcee for Military Idol finals week.

The music-accompanied semifinals are scheduled for 2 p.m. tomorrow at Wallace Theater, where the field will be pared from six to three finalists as selected by the judges. That show will be available for viewing Friday on AKO.

The finals are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday. The winner will be determined by audience voting on AKO for two hours following the finals.

A 30-minute reveal show is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, during which the 2006 Military Idol will be announced. All 13 performers will have a role in the reveal show.

The public is invited to attend the semifinals, finals and reveal show. Admission is free, on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors will open at 1 p.m. each day at the newly renovated Wallace Theater.

Each of the finalists won a local contest on one of 29 Army installations around the world, where competitions ranged from one night to eight weeks.

From the 29 local winners, Army Entertainment Division officials selected the finalists from videotaped auditions: Staff Sgt. Angelo Johnson, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Staff Sgt. Viletta Nash, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Pfc. Randy Holmes, Schweinfurt, Germany; Sgt. Bobby Pate, Baumholder, Germany; Spc. Dave Boholst, Fort Polk, La.; Staff Sgt. Andre Jones, Wiesbaden, Germany; Sgt. Tony Cooper, Fort Gordon, Ga.; Staff Sgt. Connie Bishop, Hanau, Germany; Staff Sgt. Cornelius Whitaker, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Sgt. Quanda Brown, Fort Lee, Va.; Capt. Scott Holm, Fort Lewis, Wash.; Spc. Vicki Golding, Fort Myer, Va.; and Sgt. 1st Class Constance Campbell, Fort Hamilton, N.Y.

"The overall quality of the competitors seems to have increased since last year," said Military Idol program manager Tim Higdon. "There's definitely been more multi-service inquiries and desire to participate this year than last year. For season three, we'll be looking to make some significant changes to the program that will allow for broadcasting, sponsorship opportunities and joint-service participation."

The 2006 Military Idol winner will receive $2,000, with $1,000 going to the runner-up and $500 for the third-place performer. For more details, visit <a href = "http://www.armymwr.com/portal/recreation/promotions/militaryidol/">www.militaryidol.com</a>.

Military Idol is one of more than 50 programs provided to Soldiers and their families by the U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command, formerly known as the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center.