Orange County Register

The producers of Inland Idol, a talent contest for young singers, have announced they’re bringing the competition to Orange County later this year. Mark Wahlberg will be among the judges.

Entrants must be between 7 and 18 years old. Registration is now open.

Winners will receive:

- A two-song, professional recording and production opportunity
- One original song producedspecifically for the young artist
- Professional vocal coaching
- Professional photography session
- Performance showcase opportunities

More details follow.

Three months, four major events, celebrity judges, prizes and tremendous young talent! By popular demand, the producers of the annual Inland Idol competition and concertevent have announced a new competition for Orange County this summer. O.C. Idol 2009!

 The dust has barely settled from WBZB Entertainment’s Inland Idol 2009 Final Concert Event, but they are already taking registrations for the next new competition.  “We were already getting emails and phone calls asking about the next event before we concluded Inland Idol 2009,” said Rick Henninger, business manager for WBZB. “The decision was almost made for us.  People loved what we were doing in the Inland Empire and wanted more.”

 This year, Inland Idol included an Orange County venue in its round of qualifying auditions. “We had such a great response from it that we decided it was time to produce an Orange County event too!” according to Bruce Sampson, president of WBZB Entertainment.

 Registrations are now open for O.C. Idol 2009.  O.C. Idol is a solo vocal competition for Southern CA kids ages 7-18. The contest is divided into three age divisions: 7-10, 11-14, and 15-18 resulting in one winner from each division.

 Inland Idol has included over 1,100 contestants from all over Southern CA. Nearly 2,000 audience members have attended the final concert events which were presided over by celebrities and industry veterans including Cathy Rigby (Emmy Winner - Tony Nominee - Olympic Gymnast) & Marc Cherry (Creator of “Desperate Housewives”), Mark L. Walberg (host of Fox TV’s “The Moment of Truth” and PBS’s “Antiques Road Show”) and Greg Phillinganes (keyboardist and producer “Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, “We Are The World” and Eric Clapton’s “Journeyman.”.)

 Mark L. Walberg has already signed on for O.C. IDOL as well.He will be joined on the celebrity judging panel by Grammy-nominated singer and O.C. native Cassie Miller; and Emmy Award-winning choreographer and showman Kye Brackett.

David Sidoni (Disney’s “Newsies” and Nickelodeon’s “Roundhouse”) will serve as host for the show.

 The producers will audition youth from all over Southern CA during the months of July and August for O.C. Idol. The Semi-finals will take place August 29th with the final concert event scheduled for September 19th.

 Qualifying auditions will be held at:

The Village at Orange – July 25th

•The Shoppes at Chino Hills – August 15th

 The Semi-Finals will be 3 ticketed stage events that take place on August 29th at The Village Theater in Orange, CA.

Finalists selected from the semi-final auditions will compete in an exciting concert finale to be judged by celebrities and entertainment industry veterans on Saturday, September 19th.  Winners will be determined by a combination of votesfrom the celebrity judging panel and the live theater audience that evening.

One winner from each age division will be selected . 

Limited spots available per age group per location. Contestants must register online at www.OCIdol.com.  There is a one-time $35 registration and processing fee per contestant.

Inland Idol is produced by WBZB Entertainment, a not-for-profit entertainment production company that promotes and produces performance and training opportunities for young people. Proceeds from the event will benefit WBZB’s outreach initiatives - Arts Reach. For more information, visit www.OCIdol.com

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