Sarah McCain, 10, smiles at her audience after performing in the Kidz Talent Show on the Times Free Press stage Saturday.Is there another budding Lauren Alaina Suddeth in our midst?
The 16-year-old runner-up in this season's "American Idol" won the Chattanooga Times Free Press Kidz Talent Search at the Riverbend Festival when she was 12. National fame and a recording contract have followed for this Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School student.
At Riverbend this week, youngsters will showcase their talents at the Chattanooga Times Free Press stage on festival grounds.
In the weeks leading up to the festival, 30 area performers age 12 and younger were selected to compete in the Kidz Talent Search. Twenty have already performed at the festival, with the last 10 performing tonight - all hoping to make it to the finals. Judges will select nine youngsters to compete from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. The public will select an additional fan favorite to compete for the title.
Voting for fan favorite will take place at www.timesfreepress/talentsearch.com for a 24-hour period starting Wednesday at noon. The winner will be notified Thursday afternoon. There is a 50-cent charge per vote, with a minimum $5 purchase. Proceeds will be given to public television station WTCI, said Brooke Fontana, Times Free Press marketing assistant.
Cash awards of $500 will be given to the contest winner and to the fan favorite, Fontana said, noting that a contestant could possibly win both titles.
Stefanie Wittler, Times Free Press marketing sales assistant and former Miss Tennessee, will serve as one of the contest's judges. She said she's thankful her parents exposed her to music and the arts at a young age.
"Anytime kids can be involved in something positive like music, it is not only giving them experience and confidence, it's also making them well-rounded students," she said.
In a 13-year span, Wittler said, she went from child performer at the Hamilton County Fair to singing on live television on the Miss America stage in 2010, finishing as second runner-up.
But given the wealth of "God-given talent" in the Chattanooga area, she said, "over the next few days, we might just run across a future American Idol or Miss America.
"These kids are going to rock Riverbend."