By Uriah Kiser
Fredericksburg, Va. — The house was packed Saturday night with the sounds of hopeful country singers competing for a ticket that could lead to stardom.
WFLS-FM’s Country Idol competition’s finale was held at Brock’s Restaurant in Fredericksburg, where 11 finalists sung their hearts out for the top prize of $1,000 and the opportunity to record a three-track demo album.
A favorite from Stafford County, 25-year-old Jacquie Damm, a nursing student who once gave up singing only to find it again during this competition, took the stage and belted out Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.” Prior to going on stage, she had just gotten over a mid-week cold but felt her voice was strong enough to perform.
In the crowd sat her cousin, aunt, and uncle who were all cheering her on. From the low notes to high pitched parts of the song, Damm not only sung but also danced across the stage during her performance.
When the song was over, four judges whose job it was to critique the singers said her outstanding performance would only make it harder to narrow the competition down to just one winner.
“Your confidence in your performance really shinned through,” said one judge.
“You commanded the stage and showed us the range of your vocal ability,” said another.
Damm smiled, thanked them, and walked off stage.
By end of the night when all of the singers had taken their bows before the judges and it was time to crown a winner, Damm sat with her hands clasped anxiously awaiting a name to be announced. She, along with about 200 others in the crowd – some wearing stickers and buttons with the name of their favorite singer – all wanted to know who would be crowned Country Idol.
“And the winner of Country Idol is… Ryan French,” exclaimed WFLS morning host Steve Waters.
French, a guitar-playing country-singing troubadour took the top spot. Damm wasn’t even selected as one of three finalists.
Though she knew her name wasn’t going to be called, there was so much excitement on her face one might have thought it was her name that was about to be called. Later, she said she was humbled just to be in the room and support the other performers.
“This whole experience has been so much fun. And I know this might sound corny, but it’s all of the hugs that I’ve gotten from friends and family who have all come out to support me is what has made all of this worth it,” said Damm.
She, along with the other finalists, was given tickets to an upcoming Blake Shelton show at George Mason University’s Patriot Center as well as some other parting gifts. But her biggest gift of all may have been the chance to rediscover the stage.
“I don’t know when or where, or if I’ll do it in another competition like this, but I will sing again soon,” said Damm.
