By Khalida Sarwari
They say that if you don’t succeed the first time, try again. And that’s just what Brandon Farmer did. The 15-year-old from San Jose returned to the second annual South Bay Teen Idol competition, and this time he didn’t leave empty-handed.
Brandon’s performance of “Come What May” won him the contest’s top prize: a $2,500 scholarship for himself and $500 for his school, the Accelerated Christian Academy in San Jose. Judges called his performance “awesome” and his stage presence “infectious.”
“Dude, I thought you killed it. Honestly,” said Brodie Stewart, a country music singer/songwriter and one of four judges in the competition, which was held April 20 at the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos.
Most of the prize money, Brandon said, will go toward his college fund, but by the time the show came to an end, he already had plans for other ways to spend some of the money: on piano and guitar lessons. As the first place winner, Brandon will also receive a recording session at Sound Management in San Jose.
The win left Brandon breathless.
“It feels amazing,” he said, in between receiving hugs from his friends. “It’s incredible. I’m just feeling so excited right now.”
Brandon, a freshman, was judged upon and won based on not only his singing ability, but also his stage presence and ability to connect with the audience. The theme of the evening was “As Seen on Glee.”
Rounding out the top three were Katie Brown, 14, a Los Gatos High School freshman, who won the $1,500 runner-up prize, and Kayla Kane, 15, a ninth grader at Presentation, who nabbed $500 for placing third.
Katie wowed the judges with her powerful voice as she belted out Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory.”
“Honestly, that’s about as perfect as you’re going to get,” said Randy Jones, an on-air personality at 95.3 KRTY in San Jose and the news correspondent for 1590 KLIV in San Jose. “I thought you were right on it. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance.”
The other judges lauded Katie for her excellent stage presence and overall strong performance. Katie told the judges that while the choreography and stage presence did not come naturally to her, she enjoyed the challenge of learning.
“I’m so glad I did it,” she said.
Later, as a little girl came up to ask Katie for an autograph, she stopped and said, “I feel so blessed and humbled to have done this and I’m just so happy.”
The judges and audience alike were impressed also by Kayla, whose jazzy rendition of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” garnered such responses from the judges as “you made me feel like I was in a cabaret” and “you nailed it.”
“Your voice control I thought was great,” said Stewart, whose only recommendation for Kayla was to “loosen up on stage.”
“It’s amazing,” she said after the show. “The whole experience is so much fun.”
The American Idol-style competition featured four judges, who aside from Stewart and Jones included Robert Hayes, the founder, chairman and CEO of Sound Management San Jose who is best known for managing the band Smash Mouth, and Ruth Pangilinan, former general manager of Broadway San Jose and executive producer at Three Doves Media. Scott Budman, a reporter at KNTV/NBC Bay Area, served as master of ceremonies again this year.
Budman asked the judges for advice for the aspiring musical theater artists, singers and musicians.
“Tenacity,” Stewart said. “To make it in this business is so difficult. Just keep believing in yourself.”
The three other judges echoed Stewart, telling the kids to commit to working hard and staying the course.
Aside from the solo performances, the evening also included two group numbers of “Some Nights,” by the indie pop band Fun and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” in colorful T-shirts and accessories.
South Bay Teen Idol kicked off with auditions in January and was followed by a semifinal round prior to the finals on Saturday night. The 10 finalists included Alice Tsvinev from Monta Vista High School; Edd Hackett from Archbishop Mitty; Eden Rousso from Westmont; Liat Rubin from Los Gatos High; Natalie Arnheim from Kehillah High School; Natasha Turcan from Leigh; and Sarah Aaldering from Fisher Middle School.
Last year, Casey Rico, then a junior at Silver Creek High School, was crowned the contest’s first winner.
Theme is ‘As Seen on Glee’ for South Bay Teen Idol contestants
