| Welcome to Talent Quest Florida, the world's largest regional karaoke singing contest that feeds into the national Talent Quest competition. Each year, singers from across the state of Florida compete in local venues to secure a spot in our regional finals held every summer. What started out as a small contest in the Sunshine State nine years ago has grown by leaps and bounds, and last year it produced the 2008 National Male Contemporary Winner, Lonza Bartlett. Here's what you need to know about us: We are a karaoke singing competition. We have three categories divided into male and female divisions: Country, Contemporary and 50-And-Over. Contestants must qualify for our regional contest at local venues throughout the state. That list of bars, restaurants and clubs can be found on our Venues page. Check often because the list is always growing. Venues have multiple opportunities for singers to qualify for the local finals. Talent Quest Florida judges and an emcee will come into your local venue to oversee your local final. Those who qualify in their local venue will compete in their respective category at Talent Quest Florida 2009 in Tampa this July 10-12 at The RItz Ybor in Tampa. A detailed schedule can be found here. Contestants must be 21 years old by the time of the National contest and are judged on three areas: Vocal ability, appearance and stage presence. Winners of Talent Quest Florida (one male and one female from each category) get paid entry, air fare and hotel stay at the national Talent Quest Karaoke competition in Laughlin, Nevada in September 2009! Want to learn more? Check out our videos, FAQ and Rules pages for all the details! Talent Quest Florida 2008 brought more than 130 singers to the regional competition in Tampa. From there six contestants earned their way to Laughlin, Nevada, where they competed for the national title. Our own Lonza Bartlett became the first-ever first place finisher from Florida when he walked away with the number one trophy in the Men's Contemporary category. You can see performances from him and other Talent Quest Florida contestants on our Video page. Bartlett wasn't alone on that stage the night of the national finals. Michael Polomba, our 2008 Men's Country winner, took second place in the national contest and our 50-plus male, Gene Goudy took a very respectable fourth-place trophy. Nichol Benoit, who has been a staffer for Talent Quest Florida the past three years, placed fifth in the Women's Country category. To say 2008 was a success for Talent Quest Florida is an understatement, and our competitors and their friends, families and fans seem to agree. We overwhelmingly received positive comments and are excited to do it all again for 2009. We're already looking ahead to 2009 and have a few venues already committed to providing us with local venues. The list of venues can be found by city on our Venues page. If you know of a venue near you that you think would be a great place for our contest, let us know! Contact us at Phil@TalentQuestFlorida.com or by calling 727-374-8072 for more information. |
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Last updated on July 4
| Do you have more questions? Are you interested in being a venue? Phil@TalentQuestFlorida.com or call 727-374-8072. |
| Home of 2008 National Overall Winner LONZA BARTLETT |
TAMPA--Here we are, less than a week away from Talent Quest Florida 2009 and we can already feel the
excitement. We are expecting about 360 individual performances at next week's finals at the Ritz Ybor,
1503 7th Ave., on July 10-12. Our e-mail has been busy and the phone hasn't quit ringing!
We are happy to announce that The RItz Ybor will host karaoke on Thursday, July 9, beginning at 9 p.m. in
the Royal Room. This will give our contestants a chance to check out part of the venue before the
competition even starts on Friday morning. Our own Nichol Benoit will run the show and will be working
for tips. So bring those dollar bills.
The response to our workshops has been overwhelming and are very packed, but we still have room for
more participants. If you are a contestant and are interested in participating, make sure you register on
our "Qualifiers" page.
Singers who qualified at their local venue advance to the regional at no charge. However, family, friends
and supporters do need a ticket for the event. Tickets are $60 and cover all three days of the finals.
All contestants must register before competing at Talent Quest Florida 2009 and they will have two
opportunities to do so. A registration table will be open at noon on Thursday, June 9, at the Hampton Inn
& Suites in Ybor City, the contest's host hotel. Another registration table will be open in the foyer area of
The RItz Ybor on Friday, July 10.
We are still accepting self-sponsored singers into the regional finals. If you were unable to qualify at a
local venue or want to compete in an additional category, click on the microphone icon to the left of this
text. If you have already qualified or self-sponsored, we will see you later this week.
All singers must have three songs prepared for the Regional finals and each competitor is guaranteed
two performances in his or her respective categories. Contestants will find out if they made the Top Ten
finals on Sunday during the actual competition. Names of Top Ten finalists are announced from the
stage, so we encourage all contestants to come prepared to sing prior to their respective categories.
For answers to additional questions, visit our FAQ page or call 727-374-8072.
DayStar Music Productions has come on board as our exclusive videographer of the Top 10 contest on
Sunday. You can order your copy from DayStar the day of the competition for $35. See our sponsor page
for details.
excitement. We are expecting about 360 individual performances at next week's finals at the Ritz Ybor,
1503 7th Ave., on July 10-12. Our e-mail has been busy and the phone hasn't quit ringing!
We are happy to announce that The RItz Ybor will host karaoke on Thursday, July 9, beginning at 9 p.m. in
the Royal Room. This will give our contestants a chance to check out part of the venue before the
competition even starts on Friday morning. Our own Nichol Benoit will run the show and will be working
for tips. So bring those dollar bills.
The response to our workshops has been overwhelming and are very packed, but we still have room for
more participants. If you are a contestant and are interested in participating, make sure you register on
our "Qualifiers" page.
Singers who qualified at their local venue advance to the regional at no charge. However, family, friends
and supporters do need a ticket for the event. Tickets are $60 and cover all three days of the finals.
All contestants must register before competing at Talent Quest Florida 2009 and they will have two
opportunities to do so. A registration table will be open at noon on Thursday, June 9, at the Hampton Inn
& Suites in Ybor City, the contest's host hotel. Another registration table will be open in the foyer area of
The RItz Ybor on Friday, July 10.
We are still accepting self-sponsored singers into the regional finals. If you were unable to qualify at a
local venue or want to compete in an additional category, click on the microphone icon to the left of this
text. If you have already qualified or self-sponsored, we will see you later this week.
All singers must have three songs prepared for the Regional finals and each competitor is guaranteed
two performances in his or her respective categories. Contestants will find out if they made the Top Ten
finals on Sunday during the actual competition. Names of Top Ten finalists are announced from the
stage, so we encourage all contestants to come prepared to sing prior to their respective categories.
For answers to additional questions, visit our FAQ page or call 727-374-8072.
DayStar Music Productions has come on board as our exclusive videographer of the Top 10 contest on
Sunday. You can order your copy from DayStar the day of the competition for $35. See our sponsor page
for details.
| The week of TQFL 09 is here! |
| Want to self-sponsor into TQFL09? Click the microphone. |
| Do you have questions about Talent Quest Florida 2009? We've received calls and e-mails so we've added more info to our FAQ Page. Check there for answers. If that doesn't help, call us at 727-374-8072. |