{"id":18218,"date":"2017-08-30T16:54:32","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T20:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=18218"},"modified":"2017-08-30T16:54:32","modified_gmt":"2017-08-30T20:54:32","slug":"top-10-showdown-finalists-get-ready-for-the-hoedown-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/top-10-showdown-finalists-get-ready-for-the-hoedown-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Showdown finalists get ready for the Hoedown spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir
\n<\/strong>
\nInspiration was just a channel flip away for Schomberg\u2019s Zoe Jayne.
\nRecently named to the Top 20 in the 2017 Hoedown Showdown, the annual competition hosted by Magna International to find Canada\u2019s next country star, Jayne was just about at a loss as to what song she was going to perform before the judges for the semis.
\nTime was running short as the semi-finalists were due to hit the stage at Aurora\u2019s Ribfest on Saturday afternoon, but the muse called and she hit the boards as a woman on a mission.
\n\u201cThe news came on in the background and I thought this song was more meaningful today than it has ever been,\u201d Jayne told judges as she launched into \u201cThat\u2019s Why I Pray\u201d by Big & Rich.
\n\u201cThan on the TV\u2019s gone insane, everybody\u2019s just laughing,\u201d the song begins.
\n\u201cPeople \u2018cross the world holding on
\n\u201cThe earth caved in, the ocean came crashing
\n\u201cMy neighbour lost his house \u2018cause he can\u2019t find a job
\n\u201cDon\u2019t you dare pledge allegiance, don\u2019t you dare speak of God
\n\u201cNow I\u2019m begging for forgiveness
\n\u201cI want to make a difference even in the smallest way
\n\u201cI\u2019m only one person but I can feel it working
\n\u201cI believe in better days
\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I pray.\u201d
\nThe timeliness of the 2012 lyrics was not lost on judges Tom Cross of Metalworks Studios, TV personality and philanthropist Joan Walker, and Steve Hinder of Magna and Neighbourhood Network. Nor was the quality of her voice, which landed her in the Top 10 on Saturday afternoon.
\n\u201cI have been playing this song for a long time and I thought it was a very good time to share it,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cYou are my surprise of the day,\u201d said Cross. \u201cYou came up, you sang great, and sang a song I actually have never heard and it sounded like your song. Then I looked back [at the semifinals] and thought the last time you sang, it was a song I had never heard and you\u2019re through until here. You\u2019re onto something. You know who you are and I really enjoyed it.\u201d
\nMs. Walker agreed, adding: \u201cYou could probably sing anything. I just love your voice, the power and subtlety.\u201d
\nBefore securing a place in the Top 10, Jayne was keeping her fingers crossed she would make it over the next hurdle. Between now and the finals on Friday, September 14 at Magna\u2019s annual Wild, Wild West Hoedown, the Top 10 will undergo an intensive mentorship week with industry professionals who will be on hand to help the musicians hone their craft.
\nBeing able to experience that would be \u201cunreal,\u201d said Jayne, but now reality is setting in.
\nJoining her in the Top 10 are:<\/p>\n

John Anderson (Barrie)
\nSarah Campbell Mills (Burlington)
\nMike Chianelli (Sutton West)
\nPatrick James Clark (Mulmur)
\nAbby J. Hall (Burlington)
\nJamie Lynn Reid (Keswick)
\nKatie Sacco (Toronto)
\nLauren (Renee) Vandervecht (Sharon)
\nCameron Von Criegern (Peterborough)<\/p>\n

Aurora was well represented in the Top 20 by Collette Zorzella, who wowed the crowd with her rendition of Dolly Parton\u2019s \u201cJolene\u201d, as well as former Aurora Teen Idol Melissa Suma, who also borrowed from the Dolly\u2019s songbook with \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u201d which won praise from the judges.
\n\u201cThat was a really powerful performance and I keep finding myself looking [at the sheet] to make sure you are only 15 because it has been a treat sitting in this seat for three years and watching you grow,\u201d said Mr. Hinder of Melissa. \u201cWatching your vocal progression has been great and you sure make Aurora proud.\u201d
\nThe judges, however, encouraged the 15-year-old to embrace her youth and try out more contemporary work.
\n\u201cSometime I want to hear you sing a song a 15-year-old would sing,\u201d said Mr. Cross. \u201cYou\u2019re always singing songs that are about yesterday, that older entertainers should be singing. Sometime I would like to see the fun girl in Melissa who has her whole life ahead of her because you are a great singer and a great talent.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inspiration was just a channel flip away for Schomberg\u2019s Zoe Jayne.
\nRecently named to the Top 20 in the 2017 Hoedown Showdown, the annual competition hosted by Magna International to find Canada\u2019s next country star, Jayne was just about at a loss as to what song she was going to perform before the judges for the semis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/2017-08-31-05.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-4JQ","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 04:37:59","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}