August 6, 2008 — Great American Country (GAC) and Music Nation have selected the six finalists in GAC’s first-ever nationwide talent competition, "The Next GAC Star," a search for the next country music star. Finalists J.C. Andersen, Tyler Barham, Angela Engelman, Megan Conner, One Night Rodeo and Lane Turner were chosen out of thousands of independent country artists around the U.S. who uploaded videos, MP3s and photos online, at GACTV.com/star. Click here for more on the finalists!
America will ultimately vote to determine The Next GAC Star during the two-part televised finale on September 3 and 10, with the winner crowned during a LIVE elimination in the second show. The grand prize winner will receive a record deal with Original Signal Recordings, a Gibson Hummingbird Guitar, and a music video, which will air on GAC.
"This competition gave any aspiring musician looking for a career in the country music industry a chance to shine before the nation and our judges. We’re confident we’ve selected six finalists with the talent and passion needed to make it within the genre," says, Sarah Trahern, senior vice president of programming at GAC.
Finalists will be flown to Nashville this month to take part in the competition’s upcoming televised finales, which will include challenges such as impromptu performances, rehearsals and recording sessions. Each of the finalists will be mentored by the competition’s music industry insider judges: renowned producers/songwriters/performers Desmond Child ("Livin’ On A Prayer, "Livin’ La Vida Loca") and Victoria Shaw (who has worked with Christina Aguilera, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and Lady Antebellum). Each finalist will also receive a Gibson Les Paul Junior guitar.
During the September 10 finale, country superstar Jack Ingram, voted this year as Best New Male Artist by Academy of Country Music, will join Child and Shaw in offering critiques of the remaining finalists.
"We were overwhelmed by the quality of talent we saw enter this competition and these six finalists each have their own distinctive voice. We’re excited to see which artist America wants to hear the most and to begin to develop them into a household name," says Daniel Klaus, Music Nation CEO.
Voting began in The Next GAC Star on May 23 with the public rating submissions using Music Nation’s head-to-head player, an engaging experience for fans that garnered hundreds of thousands of votes. Sixteen semi-finalists were picked: eight highest ranked artists from the head-to-head standings and eight "Industry Insiders" picks collectively chosen by GAC and Music Nation. The weekly winners were also profiled each week throughout June and July on GAC’s newly created series The Next GAC Star. Of the six finalists, Engelman and One Night Rodeo were previously chosen as "Nation’s Choice" semi-finalists and Andersen, Barham, Conner and Turner were selected by the "Industry Insiders."
For more information on The Next GAC Star, including finalist profiles, visit www.gactv.com/star.
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