August 31, 2016
Two months of hard work, gruelling heats and practice sessions came to an end at the Wondai Show last Saturday night when performers in the South Burnett Regional Karaoke Sing-Off took to the stage to strut their stuff.
The stage may have been the back of a truck, but that didn’t stop the 24 performers – adults and children alike – giving the appreciative crowd a great show.
The Wondai Showgrounds grandstand was packed despite near-freezing temperatures, and so was the under-cover area to the side.
One by one, individual performers and duets stepped up to the microphone to give their all, and the judges admitted that choosing winners was a very difficult task.
The Regional Karaoke Sing-Off was a new feature of this year’s Wondai Show, introduced to replace the Bull Ride which Show Society officials felt had “had its day”.
It was organised by Sue Bradley and Geoff Grevell from popular local music duo Love2Sing.
Sue and Geoff also run karaoke nights at local venues, so they used their knowledge to create the new competition and recruit the talent.
The couple began running fortnightly heats for adult competitors in late July, and also ran two special daytime sessions at the Wondai Diggers Club for the children’s section of the competition.
Assisted by independent judges who picked the winners of each heat, they were eventually able to come up with 16 adults and 8 children for the Grand Finals on Saturday.
And what a show it turned out to be.
In the end, the children’s section was won by Mackenzie Grundy, with Tahlia Goschnick coming in as runner-up and Noelana Rossow in third place.
Rachel Andersen took out the Best Female Artist section, followed by Anita Williams; and Michael Thackray won Best Male Artist, followed by Keith Edwards.
The Duets section was won by Jenny Ball and Keith Edwards, with Helen Bush and Lyn Rodgers this year’s runners-up.
The winners got to share in the $2500 prize-money the competition offered, as well as play to a big audience who clearly appreciated their efforts.
[Photos: Geoff Grevell]
- Related article: Wondai Celebrates Show Number 99
 |
 |
 |
 |
