— courtesy Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Alongside aspiring artists from across Orange County, two locals will showcase their skills in a countywide talent competition next weekend.
The young performers will show off their dance and musical skills on the stage at Argyros Plaza at Segerstrom Center for the Arts from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 24 for a chance to win a grand prize of $1,000.
The event is free and open to the public. Guests are welcome to bring picnic dinners and snacks, low beach chairs, and blankets. Tables, BBQs or large food set-ups will not be permitted. No outside alcohol is permitted; however, alcohol will be available for purchase at George’s Café on the plaza during the event.
From more than 120 submissions, the Segerstrom Center for the Arts narrowed it down to 12, announcing the winners last week. From that dozen, there are two Newport Beach locals.
Cole Fredrick, 21, of Newport Beach, plays guitar and performs vocals for up-and-coming Orange County band, Undecided Future.
Undecided Future has already received recognition as the OCSA 2019 recipient of The Young Entertainer’s Award and 2017 winner of Ryan Seacrest’s global music competition, “Best.Cover.Ever.,” in which Undecided Future and Jason Derulo performed a song on stage.
Fredrick attended Orange County School of the Arts, California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita, and Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles.
The band, whose members met in eighth grade at OCSA, is described as “a mix of sweet juices from pop, funk, hip hop and R&B” with “fresh feel-good lyrics with great hooks, genre-mashing compositions and unique vocal harmonies.”
“You can count on their performances being entertaining with an upbeat funky vibe,” Segerstrom officials wrote in the announcement.
Undecided Future has been performing at Disneyland, California Adventure and Downtown Disney for the past two years. They have two EP’s and two singles on all digital platforms. They have also self-produced two music videos called “Intoxicated” and “U” on YouTube.
Although their future may be undecided, they have big plans.
“Our goals are to start playing more live shows in Los Angeles, write and record more original music,” they wrote in the prepared SCFTA announcement. “We’d like to also start touring other cities and bigger festivals, and get our name out there more. We have been concentrated in Orange County for six years, so branching out seems like the next big step.”
— courtesy Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Another local finalist in next week’s Center Stage competition is Jaelle, a vocalist from Newport Coast.
An Orange County native, Jaelle’s love for the stage started at age 3 with dancing and singing, and growing up performing in a local dance troupe and school talent shows.
She eventually made her way to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, appearing as a “Pierrot doll” in the Joffrey Ballet’s “Nutcracker.” Dancing as a “baby ballerina” in Steven Spielberg’s remake of “The Little Rascals” was another highlight of her career.
She recorded an album of her favorite theater arts numbers before graduating high school. Jaelle went on to study at University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Southern California, where she studied theatre and pop music, and earned a degree in communications.
Jaelle has also worked alongside Seacrest at his production headquarters “RSP,” where her creative passion for writing and scripting reality “nonfiction” television came into play, and those at NBC Universal Publicity, where she is learning how the behind the scenes and stage operations work.
Other Center Stage finalists: 3LH, Chapis, NUAGE, Ayn Liu, Miguel Pulido, Saveena Patel, SK x KM, Kelela Rose Dance, Snappy Tappers, and Leilani Benton.
For more information, visit scfta.org/events/2019/oc-center-stage-free.
