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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels August 3, 2004 Ashland's five move on in 'Idol' By Amanda Bolsinger Tidings Correspondent Triple digit temperatures, almost 200 contestants, and six hours of waiting for less then two minutes on stage. Southern Oregon Idol hopefuls entered the contest at the Jackson County Fairgrounds endured it willing for the change to move on. In the end, Only 32 made it through the preliminary round. Five of those are from Ashland. Kennie Lee DeLuz, Megan Harrel, Shaeny Johnson, Julia Strickland and Kaitie Warner will represent Ashland in the second round of the Southern Oregon Idol contest starting tonight at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford. The five women, ages 16 to 20, have taken the first steps on a path that they hope will lead to fame and stardom. Or at least a chance to audition for the fourth season of Fox's popular "American Idol." Craterian Performances and KMVU-Fox 26 are presenting Southern Oregon Idol in conjunction with Beat 93 radio. The first round of the competition was an open competition. The nearly two hundred hopefuls filled out applications and sent in their $10 entrance fee to sing one song a cappella in front of two judges. After the initial round, the judges pushed 120 contestants through to callbacks. "We all had to show up on Saturday," Warner said. "There were 120 of us. We each sang for about 15 seconds and then spent the rest of the day waiting. At the end of the night the 32 finalists were announced." The 32 finalists have been divided into two groups to perform Tuesday and Wednesday night at the Craterian Theater. At the end of the Wednesday night performance the final 16 contestants will be announced. The final 16 will perform again on Thursday night in front of five judges. The five judges include a musician, recording artist, music critic, image consultant, and media personality. After the performances the judges will narrow the performers down to eight. The last eight competitors will return Saturday to perform two songs, one ballad, and one upbeat mainstream song. The audience will then participate and pick the top three performers. The top three will each sing one more song and at that point the judges will pick the Southern Oregon Idol. The winner of Southern Oregon Idol will receive a prize package that includes a guaranteed audition with a producer of American Idol. The winner will receive airfare and hotel accommodations for two to the city where auditions will be held, either Las Vegas or San Francisco. "This is a great opportunity for the Southern Oregon Idol," Brad Nelson, Craterian performance organizer, said. "People go to Auditions at American Idol and wait in line for three days and still aren't guaranteed an audition." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams