Two of the winners of the 2012 edition of Creston’s Best Singer — one solo and one duo — will be moving on to the Kootenays’ Best Singer contest in June.
Matt Hansen placed first, and Jesse Dumas and Jairus Stonehouse placed second in last night’s contest held at the Prince Charles Theatre.
“I feel humbled,” said Hansen. “I didn’t think I did all that good.”
Judges Cheryl Coté (from Nelson), Bailey Baldin (Nelson) and Justin Swanson (Cranbrook) obviously felt differently, with Hansen’s rendition of Train’s Meet Virginia in the semifinals earning him a spot in the top five, where Billy Joel’s Piano Man launched him to the top.
This was the second time Hansen has competed; he earned the people’s choice award for the 2011 quarterfinals but failed to place after the semifinals. He also enjoys drama and acting, and has been singing all of his life, citing Billy Joel and Simon and Garfunkel as major influences.
Hansen’s win appears to indicate that he followed his own advice to aspiring singers.
“Sing what you love,” he said. “Follow your heart.”
Kootenays’ Best Singer producer Vern Gorham was pleased to see that Hansen secured the top spot, although he wouldn’t have been surprised to see any of the others make it.
“I thought the judges did a great job, and I was glad I wasn't one of them to have to decide,” he said. “I thought that there were probably at least 10 different people of the 20 that could have made the finals without anyone batting an eye.”
Dumas and Stonehouse — who won the people’s choice award for getting the most audience votes at the Jan. 19 quarterfinal show — sang Lonestar’s Amazed in the first round, and followed that up with the Fray’s You Found Me in the second.
As with the second-place winners of the 2011 Nelson and Grand Forks contests, and the winners of several upcoming Kootenay contests, the duo will be moving on to the regional contest.
Placing third was Victoria Bowns, who sang Ed Sheeran’s The A Team in the finals. Cara Waddle and Kyran Grant rounded out the top five, with Waddle singing Rodgers and Hart’s The Lady is a Tramp, and Grant singing Boston by Augustana.
Although only five made it into the final round, the 15 others who performed shouldn’t feel slighted by their exclusion.
“The singing talent was the highest of any contest I have done,” said Gorham. “The talent displayed was simply outstanding from top to bottom. I’m very grateful for the support that the audience, the sponsors and the singers gave.”