A Newport Beach girl has been chosen as one of seven finalists in her age group for a regional vocal contest.
Brooke Besikof, 10, went up against hundreds of other singers during the past two months for the sixth annual SOCAL ICON Solo Vocal Competition. Just 21 total finalists are left and Besikof is one of them.
Weekly auditions for singers between ages 7 and 18 were held at shopping malls all over Southern California, including South Coast Plaza.
“Singers sang acapella for up to one minute before receiving feedback from judges that included music educators, producers, and industry veterans,” according to a press release.
The semifinalists then competed in front of a different set of judges and a live theater audience before the top seven in each age division were chosen. Besikof’s age group consists of 7 to 10-year-olds.
Finalists will compete in a concert event on Aug. 31 at the Margaret A. Webb Theater in Santa Ana.
Each contestant will each sing with a background track for up to 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
Finalist judges include: Emmy-Award Nominated actress Melissa Hayden (The Guiding Light, The Young and The Restless); Broadway veteran Kim Huber (Beauty and the Beast, Sunset Boulevard); and recording artist and producer, John Bisaha (lead singer with The Babys).
The three judges will give feedback and then help to choose one winner from each age group. Audience members will also cast votes for the winners.
Awarded prizes include: A trophy from ICON Performing Arts; a vocal recording session with Billy Purnell in Riverside; a professional photo session with Joe Randeen of 3 Penguins Photography of Corona; and gift certificates from Sam Ash Music.
The show is open to the public and tickets are $20.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit socalicon.com
