2000 Country Showdown Washington Finals

The Washington Finals of the Country Showdown was a close contest. There were nine contestants. Two of the contestants I had competed against before...Kevin Sam from last year's local contest in Moses Lake, WA and Daniel Patton from last year’s Washington State Finals. They are both very talented! So were the other contestants. So never at any point did I think I had it in the bag. In fact, I prayed a LOT! All night long! I thank God my prayers were answered.

I am the 1999 Washington winner so I was very unsure about being able to do it again. One year I competed at a local contest in Prineville, Oregon that I had won the previous year and did not win it again. And then this year I competed in the Albany local showdown and the girl who won had won it the previous year. I took second. (So I competed again in Portland and won KWJJ's contest. This is the first year a major Portland country station has sponsored this contest in the 19 years it’s been running.) Then there’s Daniel Patton who won his local last year to make it to the Washington Finals and he won the same local again this year. So...I thought maybe this is the year for winning it two years in a row.

I sang two originals from my debut CD which is titled, “Be Careful What You Wish For”. The songs were “Long Night” (written by Michelle McAfee/Marc Elliott/Templeton Thompson) and “Step Away” (written by Lisa Ellis/Vernon Reynolds/Lana Kress). I felt good about my performance. But I know from four years of experience in this contest that you never know how the judging will go. So I was not going to get my hopes up. After the contest I found out that four of the five judges were judges last year. I’m so glad I didn’t know that BEFORE I sang because I know that would’ve made me even more nervous. And I prayed that the emcees of the contest (who were the sames ones as last year) would not announce me as last year’s winner. And thank goodness, they didn’t. That’s what they did in Prineville the one year I wasn't able to win it again. It just puts that much more pressure on.

It took a long time for the judges to finish tallying the votes so we knew it was a close race. We all got on stage for the announcement of the winner and then the emcee said, “And now our winner, representing K - W - J...” That was all I needed to hear and I was jumping up and down [inside]. I was sooooooo excited!!!! To say the least!!!

My goal this year is to make it to nationals. One more step and I'm there. Winning the Washington state title means I won $1,000 and I go on to the Northwest Regional Finals. The Regional contest is near Spokane, WA in Stateline, ID on Saturday, October 14th at 7:00pm at Kelly’s Grand Ole Opry. If any of you can come, I’d love the support. Or if you know anyone in Spokane, please ask them to come cheer me on (and to bring all their friends). I would be most grateful!

The Regional Winner goes on to compete against the other five regional winners in the National Finals which will be emceed by Lorrie Morgan at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN on Wednesday, November 29th. It will be televised in the Spring (I think). You can check the Country Showdown web site for those details later. http://www.countryshowdown.com. The national winner wins $50,000! The Country Showdown is America’s Biggest Talent Showcase. This is its 19th year running. Every year 100,000 artists sign up to compete in over 500 local showdowns.

Some well-known country stars competed in the Country Showdown. LeAnn Rimes was a Texas local showdown winner. Garth Brooks was an Oklahoma local showdown winner. Sara Evans was a Missouri state showdown winner. Rick Trevino was a Texas state showdown winner. John Berry was a Georgia state showdown winner. Shane Minor was a California state showdown winner. Chad Brock was a Florida state showdown finalist. John Michael Montgomery was a Kentucky state showdown winner. Martina McBride was a national finalist. Neal McCoy was a national finalist. Sweethearts of the Rodeo were a national winner.

I, too, would like to be among those names they tout someday. I’ll keep pluggin’ away. And if any of you have any ideas for promotion or have any contacts you think might help me with my career, please feel free to forward that information to me. And please send some good vibes my way on Saturday, October 14th at around 7:00pm. Better yet, if you can make it...please come cheer me on! And some prayers would be appreciated as well. Thanks so much for your support! You don’t know how much your words of encouragement really help to inspire me. It really means a lot!!!

The Country Showdown has been a fantastic experience for me. And I encourage any of you who are singers or singer/songwriters to compete in it. It’s great experience and another opportunity for exposure. You never know who might be there listening. At the KWJJ local showdown in Portland, Oregon, one of the judges was the West Coast Regional Manager for Curb Records.

And for those of you who are songwriters looking for artists to sing/record your songs, please send your demos to me or e-mail me with URLs to where I can listen to them. I am still looking for new material for my live shows and to record on my next CD. Please be patient when waiting for a response from me and please do follow-up with me if you send material. I would love to take some of you songwriters with me to the top—because that's where I plan to go! Remember...“It's better to shoot for the stars and miss than to aim for a pile of manure and hit!” Dream big! And never give up on your dreams!!!