Jack Ingram photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.
Sept. 2, 2008 — The six finalists from the talent competition The Next GAC Star go head to head in the semi-finals Wednesday as Jack Ingram leads a three-judge panel in a one-hour special. The stakes are huge: The ultimate winner on Sept. 10 will receive a recording contract with Original Signal Records and a chance at future stardom.
All six finalists — including J.C. Andersen, Tyler Barham, Megan Conner, Angela Engelman and One Night Rodeo and Lane Turner — will perform live for three judges with significant credentials. Jack Ingram is one of country’s top current hitmakers; Victoria Shaw has co-written hits for Garth Brooks and John Michael Montgomery, and she co-produces Lady Antebellum; and Desmond Child has songwriting credits on tracks by LeAnn Rimes, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Trisha Yearwood.
If the contestants have their work cut out for them, so do the judges.
"It’s never easy to act as an expert and ‘judge’ someone else whose music style or approach may be different from yours," Jack says, "but I think I can assist these artists by providing feedback they can take into consideration and use to better their music. I’m honored GAC asked me to contribute my experiences and that I can help them as they provide aspiring artists an opportunity to receive critiques and national television exposure."
This week’s competition gets underway Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. The winner will be determined live on Sept. 10.
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