Nearly a dozen local karaoke performers, including six Jefferson County singers, will appear at a benefit concert Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Mississippi River Eagles Club, 330 Bailey Road, in Crystal City. Doors open at 3 p.m. and the concert begins at 4 p.m.
The event, called Singer Showcase, is a benefit fundraiser for the 2024 Talent Quest International competition. Proceeds will be used to defray entry fees and travel expenses for next year’s competitors.
Admission to the event is $10 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Eagles up until the day of the event as well as at the door.
Talent Quest International is a karaoke competition founded in 2003 for amateur vocalists age 21 and older. Local, regional and state-level competitions are held to determine the top acts, who then compete for cash prizes at the national event. This year’s national finals took place Oct. 10-15 in Laughlin, Nev.
Norma Jean Fagin of Rhapsody Entertainment serves as coordinator for the Missouri Southeast Region of TQI. A previous Talent Quest winner herself, she has helped coordinate the contest in other states.
“It’s much more than the karaoke you see in bars,” she said. “This is not just about singing; they have to be conscious of their costuming, stage presence, all the other aspects of performing.”
Fagin said she posts regular updates to the Rhapsody Entertainment Facebook page as the competition progresses.
“We usually start in late March and run local contests for up to 10 weeks,” she said. “Each region has its finals in late July, and then we have our state finals in August.”
This was the first year Missouri participated in the competition.
“We held local qualifying contests in De Soto, Crystal City and Bonne Terre,” Fagin said. “We held our regional finals in De Soto, and the vocal talent that showed up was amazing!”
Six of the eight singers from the state who made it through to the national finals were from the Southeast Region, which encompasses Jefferson and St. Francois counties and a portion of western Illinois.
“We’re pretty proud of that, for the first year,” Fagin said.
The competition is funded through donations, individual and corporate sponsorships and entry fees from previous years.
“It’s up to the regional coordinators how many they send straight through (to nationals),” Fagin said. “It’s based on their funding and how many they have in their competition.”
David Byers of Festus and Elizabeth Barbeau of De Soto won the regional finals and went straight through to the national level. They were joined there by George Gettys of Festus, David Sweezer of St. Francois County, Shelly Childers of Lousiana, Mo., and Courtney Huff of Illinois.
Five of the competitors made it to the Top 10 at the national finals. Barbeau did not advance.
“It was super fun, though,” Barbeau said. “As a regional winner, I got my $250 entry fee waived, and I got a seven-night hotel stay at the Tropicana. You meet people from all over the country – Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas – and they’re just as excited as you are. It’s a lot of fun, even if you don’t win.”
For more information about the concert or the 2024 competition, go to the Rhapsody Entertainment page on Facebook.
The following local singers will appear in the Nov. 11 Talent Quest Singer Showcase:
■ David Byers of Festus, who won local and regional competitions and made it to the Top 10 at nationals in the Male Country category.
■ George Gettys of Festus, who made it to the Top 10 at nationals in the Male Masters (over 50) category.
■ Elizabeth Barbeau of De Soto, who won local and regional competitions and made it into the top 25 national finalists in the Female Pop/Rock category.
■ Judy Sandridge of Festus, who advanced through regionals to place second at the state finals in the Female Country category.
■ Pam Bailey of De Soto, who advanced through regionals to place third at the state finals in the Female Country category.
■ Tyler Frederick of De Soto, who advanced through regionals to place third at the state finals in the Male Country category.
■ Temberly Wisdom of St. Francois County, who worked her way through local and regional contests to capture first place at state in the Female Country category. She was unable to compete at nationals due to a scheduling conflict.
■ David Sweezer of St. Francois County, who won regionals, got first at state and made the Top 10 at nationals in the Male Country category
■ Kyle Cosby of St. Francois County, who advanced through regionals to place send at the state finals in the Male Country category
■ Clint Jeffries of Jefferson City, the only Missouri contestant to finish in the Top 5 at nationals.
■ Russel Sadick of Bonne Terre, who has toured extensively across the country with his Barry Manilow tribute for many years.