| Do you have more questions? Are you interested in being a venue? Phil@TalentQuestFlorida.com or call 727-374-8072 |
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Last updated on Jan. 2
| Home of 2008 National Overall Winner LONZA BARTLETT |
TAMPA--We finally have a ton of photos available from the July 10-12 Talent Quest Florida 2009 event!
Check them out by clicking here or follow the link to the left. Thanks to Poly Costas, one of our official
Talent Quest Florida photographers. Feel free to download your favorites!
A recap of Talent Quest Florida 2009:
In women's pop, presented by the World Class Karaoke Convention, Tonya Scott took the title while
Danielle Hollobaugh took the women's country category. Hollobough was initially tied with Ashley Smith
in the country category and the two women had a sing-off. Despite Hollobaugh's win, Talent Quest
Florida announced it would also send Smith to the national finals in Laughlin, Nev., this September.
The men's pop title, which was presented by the St. Petersburg AIDS Walk, went to Michael Jaynes and
Nick Renfro placed first in the men's country division.
The 50-and-over women's title went to June Baxendale, Chaz Merkel placed first in the men's category,
which was presented by the Fraternal Order of the Orioles.
Check them out by clicking here or follow the link to the left. Thanks to Poly Costas, one of our official
Talent Quest Florida photographers. Feel free to download your favorites!
A recap of Talent Quest Florida 2009:
In women's pop, presented by the World Class Karaoke Convention, Tonya Scott took the title while
Danielle Hollobaugh took the women's country category. Hollobough was initially tied with Ashley Smith
in the country category and the two women had a sing-off. Despite Hollobaugh's win, Talent Quest
Florida announced it would also send Smith to the national finals in Laughlin, Nev., this September.
The men's pop title, which was presented by the St. Petersburg AIDS Walk, went to Michael Jaynes and
Nick Renfro placed first in the men's country division.
The 50-and-over women's title went to June Baxendale, Chaz Merkel placed first in the men's category,
which was presented by the Fraternal Order of the Orioles.
| Talent Quest Florida winners announced |
| Talent Quest Florida is once again home to a national champion. Tessa O'Gilvie won women's contemporary and was named the highest-scoring female in the country! We also found a winner in Danielle Hollobough, who won the women's country category. Ashley Smith finished a very respectable fourth in the same category! Michael Jaynes was fifth-place in the Men's Pop category! Our 50-plus women, June Baxendale, Debbie Patton and Denise Tyler claimed the third, fourth and fifth-place slots and Chaz Martino placed fifth in the men's 50-plus category! And Phil Garris and Jenny Jones finished second in the national duets category! What an amazing year! You can see some of our 21 national singers perform below. See many of our 2009 National performances here. |
| Interested in being a Talent Quest Florida 2010 venue? Click below for all the info. VENUE INFO |
| (L-R) Steve Blanchard, Walt Tart, Jim Nixon and Phil Garris represented Talent Quest Florida at the third annual Strike Out For AIDS fundraiser for Francis House on Aug. 8. |
| 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 2010 in Tampa next summer in Tampa. A detailed regional schedule will be released early next year. 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! Want to learn more? Check out our videos, FAQ and Rules pages for all the details! The 2009 regional competition brought out nearly 240 singers to The Ritz Ybor in Tampa. A very qualified panel of judges choose the top performer in each of the six categories to receive a trip to perform on the national level in Laughlin, Nevada, this fall. Florida's appearance in the Finals was amazing. We took women's pop and country titles at nationals and placed fifth in the Men's 50-Plus and Men's Pop categories. We secured third, fourth and fifth in the women's 50-Plus division. 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 2010 and have a few venues already committed to providing us with local venues. The list of venues on board for 2010 will be posted on our Venues page in the near future. 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. |
| Talent Quest Florida co-owner Phil Garris performs at St. Mary's Fall festival in St. Petersburg while TQFL sound technician Normie Dunn looks on. |
| Talent Quest Florida gives back |
