September 2011 A King-Size View Page 19

Dallas, Texas-The first annual

Lone Star Idol show turned out

to be a great evening. On

Sunday September 18th, at the

historic Granada Theater on

Greenville Avenue, it was rock-

ing with the fresh new sounds of

many artists. Thanks to Marie

Ornelas-Thompson and Darnell

Smith we were happy to be

involved with the contest. It was

an excellent opportunity to meet

some of the up and coming tal-

ents and also see some VIP per-

formers who came to lend a

hand to the new stars to be.

Legendary Ernie Johnson came

along and performed the title cut

from his latest CD “I’m the one

you need”. Johnson said after

the event he certainly enjoyed

the company of so many talent-

ed young people and the way

they enjoyed being in his pres-

ence really warmed his heart.

As far as the contest went, clear-

ly Jason Ashley won for his

country and western song and

Taylor Heard came in at a close

second with her guitar and

smooth sounding voice as well.

Third place went to Crystal

Cameron who had a good

sounding group.

But it didn’t stop there as many

other groups and acts took to the

stage to show what they had

before a live MTV audience.

The VIP performers started out

with Harpist Kristen Smith of

Austin and let me tell you this

girl can play. Then the smooth

soulful sounds of Kera Noon

known as Neutral Sister and her

song ‘Together’ really got the

crowd into a grove.

The first act was Crystal

Cameron who placed third with

her song ‘Color My Life’.

It was time for 11 year old Jade

Nickol Hudson and the night

was well underway. James

Moradoll came up and did a

medley of songs much to the

delight of the crowd on hand.

One of the most interesting acts

had to be Jokie Williams as she

had her entire family on the

stage. Her husband played bass

while her daughter played drums

and she played guitar and the

other daughter played and sang

as well.

Back to the VIP performers as

Stephen Pride the brother of the

great Charley Pride singing a

song called ‘You gave me a rea-

son (to love only you)’. He also

went on to sing a song called

“Perfect Picture”. It was certain-

ly good to visit with Stephen

Pride.

Sionely Psmoreno did a version

of a song called ‘Baby do you

mind’. A Spanish up tempo song

got the crowd rolling again.

Bella Nae sang the song called

‘Gimme’ which had a special

ring to it and the host had to ask

her about that one when she fin-

ished.

By that time Dominic

Bonsignmore AKA ‘Harmini’

did his rap song ‘Make you

Proud of Me’; he dedicated it to

his late mother and really got the

feeling from the crowd.

Hannelore Ester did an instru-

mental track without background

vocals and kept the show going.

Alyssa Martin had a somewhat

smooth delivery to her sound

came up next.

Und J and Pinky did their thing

next and took the show into the

next break.

Later on in the night E Mazin, a

gospel rap act, took to the stage

and got the audience going

again.

Gillian DeVout was up next and

she had a very good voice and

the audience liked what they

heard from her. Chauncey Jones

did his act with Disalvatore next.

Another of my favorites was

Sierra Dawn with another

‘Because of You’ a Kelly

Clarkson song. The kid held her

own and later admitted she was

a bit nervous from the start.

Official Watson came up next

and rocked the house as one of

the VIP performers on the show.

Houston’s own JMetro came up

next with his love songs as the

Barbara Jordan graduate brought

the house together with his

words.

Darius Connor had his son Holy

is the Lord gathered a lot of sup-

port from the audience.

Duval Ave Maria was up next as

the night continues and the acts

just kept on coming.

Petite Talent two little girls real-

ly got into a quality dance rou-

tine and many thought they

would have finished at the top.

Steven McClerkin sang a love

song with his background and

later said meeting Ernie Johnson

made his night.

One of the greatest performers

of the competition was Taylor

Heard, a smooth, classic look-

ing, country girl who can play

the guitar as well as sing. Heard

finished second and told the

audience she truly enjoyed the

contest. She added she was

raised playing the piano and

starting playing the guitar at 12

years old.

Ronyea Conner did his song

called ‘King’ and brought some

of the crowd to their feet.

Then Jason Ashley won the

stage over with his performance

and had nearly a perfect score

on all cards to win the contest.

He too had a special feeling for

listening to Ernie Johnson and

who knows the two might actu-

ally hook up and do a duet.

JaQuan Jones was up next and

his version of ‘Dummy’ closed

out the show of contests.

While we were waiting on the

votes to be counted Jose Luis

Davila took the stage and did

some Salerol and he did the

Salsa and captivated the audi-

ence one more time.

We made the trip to Dallas and

back on the same day.

Photographer Andre Odums and

I got back to Houston around

2:15 am, but it was well worth

it.

LONE STAR IDOL FIRST SHOW TURNS OUT GREATBy King Arthur Prayther

A King-Size View

1st place Jason Ashleyturning up the heat

Alyssa Eve Martin and18 year singer

- All photos by Andre Odums photography (713) 296-9111

E J with Marie and son PJ

2nd place Taylor Heardperforming

Sierra Dawn 11 year oldwith super voice

Crystal Cameron got 3rd placefor an outstanding performance

Stephen Pride brother ofCharley Pride

Jade �ickol an 11year oldsinger turns it out Harpist Kristen Smith put on

a great show

September 2011 A King-Size View Page 20

Donomic Bonsignore AKAHarminiE. J with Shena from Dallas

Winner Jason Ashley (right) and Taylor Heard

Visithttp://unsignedtexasartist.com/

for more information

JMetro- a Houston nativegreat show

Official Watson a VIP performer

Petite Talent really put on a show

Gillian with Velencia KingDarius Conner gospel singera big hit Gillian DeVout

EJ with Taylor Heard and Jason Ashley

Bella �ae gimme song was very interesting

LONE STAR IDOL FIRST SHOW TURNS OUT GREAT

Sionely Psmoreno an uptempo Spanish duel

�eutral Sister performing

September 2011 A King-Size View Page 21

E. J and Steven McClerkin

Crystal Cameron got third place for an outstanding performance

Jokie Williams Rolling alongwith her guitar

JaQuan Jones

http://unsignedtexasartist.com/

LONE STAR IDOL FIRST SHOW TURNS OUT GREAT

Jokie Williams and her gospel singing family

James Moradoll had a goodouting as well

The Master, Ernie Johnson, getson stages and performsHannolore Ester Chauncey Jones to save a life

Air man Calvin Spann with his wife Gwenelle

Tuskegee Airman Calvin Spann with King Arthur Prayther

Oak Cliff rapper Gospel rapper E Mazin Jose Luis Davila w/ Salero

First and second place

The LoneStarIdol Search com-

petition celebrated its 1st

annual Texas Artist Music

Competition at the Granada in

Dallas, Texas.

On September 18, 2011 a spe-

cial presentation “September to

Remember” Lone Star Idol

Search – Texas Artist Music

Competition- held one of Texas’

largest annual gathering of musi-

cal talent featuring an unprece-

dented day of celebration and

musical performances with

sponsors, vendors and a vast

array of producers and record

labels were at hand to the talent.

The Competition featured some

of the biggest names in enter-

tainment including, Neutral

Sister, Ernie Johnson, Salero,

Official Watson, JMetro and

Stephen Pride.

Birthed in DFW, the competition

will be held annually, each

September, bringing more than

5,000 attendees to the Lone Star

State and adding more than

$200K to DFW’s local

economy. Submissions were

accepted through August 25,

2011 for the prestigious annual

Texas Artist Music Competition,

exclusively for the most talent-

ed, emerging music artist in

Texas, The Lone Star State.

This community-focused event

was designed to showcase the

most musically talented, while

maximizing their exposure and

jumpstarting their careers.

Only the most talented competi-

tors took the stage with their

individual, show-stopping per-

formances. This important step

encouraged them to take their

career to the next level, profes-

sionally. The Competition is

essential to every music artist

since it requires them to step

outside of their comfort zone,

while challenging their creativi-

ty, and excelling in their craft.

The 1st place winner JASON

ASHLEY was much deserved,

as he is a talented, American

Country Music singer and music

producer with the ability to

excel and become one of the

Nation’s top Country Artist. He

has his own unique style of

western music, bar-room ballads

and honky-tonk style, and fresh

yet traditional Country music.

Mr. Ashley’s performance of his

self published, soulful ballad

entitled ‘Are you the One’

topped the judges voting tallies

and was met with a standing

ovation at the end of his stellar

performance. Keep track of Mr.

Ashley in the future for he is

sure to impact the world with his

music and producing.

The 2nd place winner Taylor

Herd (left) and 3rd place winner

Crystal Cameron awed the audi-

ence with their leading perform-

ances.

Ms. Herd’s country singing was

crisp and showed amazing tal-

ent.

Ms. Cameron’s (right) soulful

singing of a self published song

‘So Real’ brought the audience

to a new level of faith with her

heartwarming, Christian-based

ballad.

All of the contestants that made

the final cut and attended the

event did not leave empty hand-

ed. They all were given gift

cards and t-shirts from our spon-

sors. Furthermore, all were gift-

ed a Custom-Designed Website

to showcase their music and an

online store to have the ability to

sell and distribute their music

and products . Their profession-

al photographs were given at a

discounted rate from our sponsor

GKH Photography.

This event is made possible

through the contributions of cor-

porate sponsors like Jalapeno’s

Grill –Allen Texas who provide

financial support for this year’s

competition. Many sponsors

gave gift cards and products for

our contestants. King Size View

News traveled from Houston,

Texas to cover the event.

All of our Judges were outstand-

ing, including Edward

Helton and Jason Aguilar who

shared their experiences in the

music industry with all the per-

formers. Blades and Shears and

Yvonne Alford were exemplary

with their styling and make-up

artist ability for the Stars. Sean

C. Brannon handled the produc-

tion and stage with ease and

expertise. Our Emcees Tiffany

Hatchett and Valenceia King

kept the audience on their feet.

Shirley Walker-King, Chellie

Feathers, Phoebe and Theresa

kept the venue running smooth.

We are looking forward to the

2012 Season (2) as we search

the States for Unsigned Talent

that is looking for a vessel to

take them to next level in their

professional career.

A Special Thank you to all of

our Contestants for being a part

of our 2011 Season.

September 2011 A King-Size View Page 22

LONE STAR IDOL FIRST SHOW TURNS OUT GREAT