<\/p>\n
After eight weeks of competition, a 2017 Cortez Idol winner was finally crowned Saturday night.<\/p>\n
The top three finalists in the singing competition, Justin Adams, Michele Buffington-Coyote and Liv Story, each performed three songs to a loud, enthusiastic crowd at Blondie\u2019s Trophy Room in a final round to determine the winner. Amid other performances by local artists and former winners, each contestant sang a song by the Eagles, a song picked by the three judges and one that they chose themselves. Although all three got plenty of cheers and applause from the crowd, a combination of audience votes and judges\u2019 scores determined that Story, a Montezuma-Cortez High School student, would win the $1,000 grand prize.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to thank all of you for supporting the arts in this community,\u201d she told the audience after her last performance, a crowd-pleasing rendition of Christina Aguilera\u2019s \u201cFighter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final decision was a close call. Master of ceremonies P.A. Jackson said that only one point on the judges\u2019 score sheet separated first from third place. But unlike the other nights of the competition, the audience was also allowed to vote for their favorites on Saturday, with their vote counting for about 25 percent of the final score. According to a poll on the competition\u2019s Facebook page, twice as many people voted for Story as second-place winner, Buffington-Coyote.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen some amazing performances tonight,\u201d judge Aaron LeMay told the finalists. \u201cAll of you have pushed yourselves and challenged yourselves. \u2026 You deserve to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
All three performers did things the judges said they\u2019d never seen in the competition before, like getting up on the bar to sing, and even going outside during a performance to come back in through the crowd. Although the bar was so crowded by the end of the night that there wasn\u2019t much room to move, several audience members started dancing during Adams\u2019 performance of Garth Brooks\u2019 \u201cAin\u2019t Goin\u2019 Down (Till the Sun Comes Up),\u201d and the screams from the crowd grew so loud during Story\u2019s last performance that they almost drowned her out at times.<\/p>\n
In addition to the finalists, several contestants who didn\u2019t make it to the final round also got a chance to perform one more time, including Linella Miller, who received an award for \u201cMost Improved Performer.\u201d Previous Cortez Idols, like last year\u2019s winner, Dev Strawn, performed as well, and the MCHS drama class performed a song from their upcoming musical, \u201cOnce Upon a Mattress.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fifth annual Cortez Idol competition started on Jan. 28 with 20 finalists, who had been chosen after a two-week audition period. Each week, they performed songs from a different genre, while the judges eliminated contestants based on musical ability, stage presence and other factors.<\/p>\n
At the end of Saturday\u2019s event, which lasted until midnight, judge Brad Sitton thanked the former owner of Blondie\u2019s, Patty Simmons, for her role in starting the competition in 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack then, we certainly never thought we\u2019d come this far,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Sitton announced that he would not be returning to judge next year\u2019s competition, but he encouraged everyone \u2013 contestants and audience alike \u2013 to tune in again in 2018. He especially asked the contestants who didn\u2019t win this year to try again, \u201cbecause you\u2019ll get better every time.\u201d Simmons agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something that needs to keep going,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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