Karaoke Community and Talent Quest’s Role

It is estimated that approximately 3 to 5 million people regularly participate in karaoke. Over time, long-standing karaoke venues foster a unique subculture, with participants ranging from first-time singers to dedicated, competitive regulars. Talent Quest has tapped into these venues, providing singers with the opportunity to compete and showcase their abilities on a larger stage.

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    With the introduction of American Idol in 2002, karaoke and amateur singing have become more a part of the American culture landscape. American Idol has brought more exposure of karaoke and singing/performance to the American population at large, even though Simon Cowell berates karaoke singers, many of his contestants have a karaoke background. Many of our singers that come out to the international contest have auditioned or have appeared on American Idol, The Voice, America’s Got Talent and even Star Search back in the day. Additionally, films such as Duets (2000), When Harry Met Sally (1989), P.S I love You (2007) and many more have incorporated karaoke into their films.

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   Competitions such as Talent Quest International Contest have benefited from this publicity and exposure. It is from the masses that have become exposed to karaoke and amateur singing that Talent Quest has its appeal. As more and more enthusiasts take the hobby more serious, the competitive aspect of karaoke has come to encompass performance merit as well as vocal ability. Singers from all walks of life and ages use karaoke to perform and hone their skills, many using it to further their desires of stardom.

 

    It should be noted that the methodology of Talent Quest differs from other competitions such as American Idol or other competitions with a similar format. The Talent Quest format does not have a target age/social demographic, same for the categories that have been selected. This has the effect of making the competition accessible to those who may for some reason be ineligible to compete in a competition like American Idol or The Voice. Specific examples are: ineligibility due to age or musical genre and the like. Talent Quest unlike these other contests, does not care about the marketability of our contestants and winners or a sad story that required them to sing. Our contestants are your next-door neighbors, the lady behind the counter at 7-11 or maybe even your mailman. Because of the way we have always run this contest, Talent Quest International Contest has become family to many of the singers across the U.S and the World. Many contestants come back year after year, whether they win or not, just to compete and sing with friends they have made over the years at Talent Quest.

 

    Talent Quest provides both framework and rules for a series of singing competitions that are held in Bars, Festivals, State Fairs and shopping malls to name a few, which ultimately culminate in an annual event know as Talent Quest International Contest. The progression of the competition starts at the local levels or Venues where contestants come to qualify in their areas in hopes of moving on to the next level in their region. If contestants are successful, they will move on to the Regional Competition held in each State or Province or Country. At this level, all winning contestants from other local level contests in their area, come together to try and win their way out to the international contest. Each area holds their own Regional contest and in some of the more populous areas, they may have two Regional’s giving the contestants more opportunity to win their way to the International Finals. The current categories for competition are: Male Open, Female Open which includes all genres of music except Rap or Urban, Male Country, Female Country, Male Masters and Female Masters. Master’s Division is contingent on participants being 50 years of age and over. This contest is presently open to contestants 21 years of age and over.

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    Contestants that are successful at winning their categories at the Regional Level then move on to the International Championship Level. Winners of each category at their Regional Venue Level receive Airfare/Transportation, Hotel Accommodations for the week and Entry into the International Finals.

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    The International Finals is a week-long event. Contestants who qualified through the competition process check in on the Sunday before the contest to receive their packets and contestant numbers. The first three days comprise the first round of competition. All 6 categories compete in the first 3 days.  On Thursday, Day 4, of the competition we cut down to the TOP 20 in each of the 6 categories. On Friday, Day 5, we cut down to the TOP 10 round for each of the 6 categories. Based upon prior scores during the week that are accumulated scores from both rounds, an elimination is performed resulting in the Top 20 in each category, yielding 120 contestants that will compete on this day. Saturday morning the TOP 5 contestants in each of the 6 categories are named and they will compete Saturday night for the International Finals.

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     Saturday Night is the International Championship Finals Round. Even though during the week the venue is in showroom condition, we set Saturday night up as a full major show production. The Final show has been sold out over the past 7 years as guest from the Hotel and surrounding Hotels have come to watch the show. Each category competes in their designated genre. For the final night performance all previous scores are dropped, and every singer starts at 0 points. The singer with the highest score in each category after the Final night’s performance is crowning the International Winner in their perspective category. The winners of each category win cash and prizes as well as 2nd through 5th place winners receiving cash and prizes of lesser value.

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    In all, Talent Quest International Contests awards approximately $200,000 annually in prizes and cash to our contestants throughout the contest season and finals.

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    The judging panel during the week and the finals may consist of Celebrity judges, nationally acclaimed song writers, National Recording artists and music representatives from recording and radio companies across the United States.