Winners of the Ponoka Stampede Talent Show were all smiles after their strong performances.
The show was held June 27 right after the chuckwagon races with judges taking a few minutes to determine the first place and runner up of 10 performers.
Darryl Andersen, from Saskatoon, Sask. wowed the judges the most with his rendition Tennessee Whiskey earning him the top spot in the competition. When it was announced that Anderson won, it took him a few moments to first, deal with the surprise, and second, to choose the prize.
The two prizes up for grabs at the competition was a MCC Recording Studio session or a brand new, handmade guitar by Gilmore Guitars. After a moment of thought, Anderson grabbed the guitar and held it in the air.
That decision all boiled down to distance.
“It’s a long drive to get out here and get that stuff done and I felt I would probably put it off,” said Anderson. “And it’s nice to have something in hand to take it back home.”
For Anderson, the win was a complete surprise considering the quality of singers in the competition. The process was slightly new for him as each singer had a chance to practice in the morning with the house band but Anderson said the whole process went quite smoothly.
As for his confidence levels, Anderson says he feels quite positive. From here, he intends to work with his band River’s Edge to gain some momentum out of the win.
Runner up hails from Stettler
A big surprise for Stettler teen (14) and competitor Chloe Shingoose, came when she heard she was picked as the runner up.
Shingoose sang Blue by LeAnn Rimes and because Andersen picked the guitar, Shingoose got the recording session, something she was hoping for in the first place.
“Everyone was really amazing so it was really nerve-wracking. I didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Shingoose.
The teen has been singing since she was five-years-old thanks to encouragement by her mother.
“When I started talking I would sing instead of talk, so my mom just put me in singing lessons,” she explained.
Her favourite type of music is country and pop and she hopes to continue singing.
