Ten finalists belted out the National Anthem on Friday, April 24, at the Laguna Seca Raceway, competing as part of contest called Mazda Raceway Idol. The top four contestants will sing at three major raceway events, including the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, to crowds expected to exceed 50,000.
Since Paula, Simon, Randy and Kara were unavailable, the panel of judges consisted of Nicole Ushakoff, a past Mazda Raceway National Anthem singer and former Miss Laguna Seca; Ken Lofink, president of the board of the Sports Car Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP); Erik Cushman, publisher of the Weekly; and Celeste White, director of communications for the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Each contestant was brought before the panel and asked a few questions before singing the National Anthem without musical accompaniment. Comments, criticisms and praise from the judges followed.
Some of the tryout highlights included the charming Patrick Leveque. The 30-year-old Phantom of the Opera understudy’s voice resonated with theatrical vigor.
“I was moved,” Cushman said.
Sixteen-year-old blonde bombshell Jessica Bunting blew the judges away with her highly trained voice and her mature demeanor.
“For 16, you have great control of your voice,” Ushakoff said.
But Bunting wasn’t the youngest competitor: Nine-year-old Tiffany Jones of Salinas won the judges over with cuteness and her encore performance of Heart’s "Barracuda."
Though Brianne Spiersch, the last performer of the day, was competing in a mountain bike race, she was able to audition with a prerecorded CD. After listening to her performance the impressed judges felt compelled to call her. Surrounded by fellow mountain bikers, Spiersch found a private spot behind some bathrooms and agreed to sing the song again, over the phone.
The finalists were named minutes ago: Kevin O’ Heaney of Carmel Valley, Kristina Monique Maciel of San Jose, the operatic Leveque (from Carmel) and Bunting, who hails from Antioch.