 Logan Lanes is again this year sponsoring the International
Bowling Karaoke Superstar V singing contest in concert with The
Lighting Store of Newton, Iowa, a provider of lighting, sound and
special effects specifically for bowling centers.In its fifth
year, the contest is open to only 288 bowling centers across the
country. It runs approximately 16 weeks, with weekly competitions
ending in a final elimination in May, where only one of possibly as
many as 30 contestants per bowling center will be given an
expense-paid trip to Las Vegas to compete on a national level.
Sean Taylor, owner of Logan Lanes, said that in the past the
contest included a regional semifinal competition and that last year
the local winner, Emily Reiners, went to Chicago to compete. This
year, however, the winner is guaranteed the trip to Vegas for a
minimum of three nights.
The local competition began Feb. 7, with 13 contestants competing
to be the first two winners. Those who won the first elimination
were Emily Reiners and Mike Anderson.
The other 11 who didn't make it last week may choose to compete
in future contests, and of course Taylor wants new folks to join in
the fun and competition as the contests progress.
Taylor hopes that by the time the competition reaches its finale
on May 23, he will have at least 30 vying for the local title.
Weekly eliminations are in the bowling center's bar-lounge area,
but Taylor says that the evening of the finale, there will be no
bowling and singers will compete on the lanes.
With one exception, there will be competition every Saturday
night, starting with warm-up and practice at 8 p.m., and contestant
judging will be around 9 p.m. Tonight (Feb. 14) everything will
start at around 6:30.
Contestants, who must be at least 18 years of age, will perform
for three judges, who will vary from week to week. For the finale
Taylor expects to have six or seven judges on hand to deliver the
final verdict.
Logan Lanes will pay to send the winner to Las Vegas for three
nights. While there, he or she will compete in semifinals against
winners from other bowling centers. The winners of the semifinals
will then vie for the grand prize in one last competition.
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The grand prize winner will receive an extra three days in Las Vegas
compliments of the Lighting Store, a $5,000 cash prize, an
opportunity to record a professional-quality CD and will be invited
to open for a major act on a Las Vegas stage.
Taylor said that at last year's event, the winner got to open for
LeAnn Rimes, well-known country pop singer and songwriter. Who this
year's winner will open for has not yet been announced.
There will also be a $2,000 cash prize for second place and
$1,000 for third.
Of the 288 bowling centers nationally that are participating in
this year's event, only four are from Illinois, with the closest one
outside of Lincoln being in Bloomington.
Karaoke is a music delivery system that allows singers to perform
to original artist recordings that provide instrumentals and
sometimes background singers for the performer.
Invented in Japan in the early 1970s, it spread to a global
pastime by the mid-1990s and still is strong today as an inexpensive
and fun way to spend an evening.
So if you think you have the pipes to compete, make sure you make
it out to Logan Lanes. You could win a great mini-vacation or maybe
even launch your singing career.
[By NILA SMITH]
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