A panel of celebrity and music industry judges had the difficult task of selecting the region's next teen singing sensation at the first annual "Teen Kula Idol" competition, presented by the Kula for Karma Foundation and mybergen.com. The event was held on March 18 at Indian Hills High School in Oakland, New Jersey.
Enthusiastic friends and family cheered and shouted words of encouragement as their favorite Teen Kula finalists each performed one song before a large and excited crowd. Performances were remarkably polished and entertaining.
Popular radio personalities Skeery Jones and TJ the DJ from Z100 emceed the show with a perfect mix of humor and professionalism.
Teen Kula Idol finalists who performed at the show were Alice An of Allendale, Caroline Cohen of Livingston, Keith Bender of Franklin Lakes, Jamie Tofano of Upper Saddle River, Meredith Ahlmeyer of Wyckoff, Chrissy Houlis of Montvale, Paige Casella of Ramsey, Emma Munro of Allendale, Jamison Pimm of Wyckoff and Vanessa Khoury of Lodi. The talent, passion and professionalism displayed by this group of local artists certainly gave TV's better known Idol competition a run for the money…they were really good.
Celebrity judges included R & B legend James "J.T." Taylor, former lead singer of Kool & The Gang, and producer, composer and vocalist on some of popular music's all-time biggest hit records.
Also judging the competition were celebrated choreographer and dancer Jimmy Locust who had just completed work on the Justin Bieber tour, Atlantic Records A&R Executive and "star-maker" Gina Tucci, Craig Neier of Craig Neier Associates and Catch a Rising Star NYC and Cynthia Dreeman Meyer, owner and director of Music Together of Chester.
Judges clearly took their job seriously, drawing from years of experience and success to provide detailed advice, praise and constructive criticism to each of the anxious yet appreciative competitors. But when it came down to the voting, two performers came out on top:
Emma Munro, who played piano and performed an original composition, was the judges' choice as 2011 Teen Kula Idol. Munro will receive a meeting with Atlantic Records A&R executive Gina Tucci, a tour of legendary Atlantic Records offices and Blastoff Studios, an opportunity to perform live at The Bitter End in New York City, an opportunity to perform live at the mybergen.com NJ Women’s Good Living Festival on June 4 at Bergen Community College and a professional headshot package from Venture Photography.
People's Choice honors went to Vanessa Khoury. The People's Choice Award was tabulated by combining mybergen.com online votes with audience text votes collected at the actual competition.
Khoury was also selected by the judges as second place in the overall Teen Kula competition, with Keith Bender coming in third.
The fast-paced evening was rounded out with performances by teen pop band Meadowland, and Hip Hop's Finest, a dance troupe from the Locust Performing Arts Center in Stamford, Connecticut.
The competition netted more than $10,000 for Kula for Karma, a non-profit organization that brings yoga to many groups that need healing, such as children with autism and developmental disabilities, children and teens with cancer, and at-risk youth.
Video highlights of the Teen Kula Idol competition will be featured on mybergen.com soon!
Learn more about Kula for Karma at www.kulaforkarma.org.
