Teen Idol contestants dress for success

Tag : egyptian costume
COOS BAY — With back-to-back finishes as the top scorer inthe first two weeks of the Bay Area Teen Idol competition, AlyssaBirrer has established herself as the one to beat.

And with performances that pleased the Egyptian Theatre audience asmuch as Birrer’s did, Star Moralez has positioned herself asthe competitor to watch.

Birrer was last year’s runner-up, while Moralez finishedfourth. The two have set themselves apart early on buthistorically, nearly all performers show growth over the course ofthe competition and there can be surprises.

In a close contest Thursday, the difference between first andsecond may have come down to a pair of gloves and a skirt. Thecontest does not disclose the actual scores or the order in whichthe contestants finished.

Appearance and presentation are two of the nine categories on whichthe contestants are rated, and as the departing crowd milledoutside the Egyptian on Thursday evening, there was speculationthat Birrer’s costume had put her over the top.

Contestants wear identical T-shirts throughout the first half ofthe competition to lessen the impact of the appearance-relatedcategories and to ease them into the later stages of thecompetition when costumes grow ever more elaborate. But even duringthe T-shirt phase, there still is room to tailor the outfit to theperformance.

Birrer, who wore gloves for her performance of the PussycatDolls’ “Sway,” wasn’t the only one takingadvantage of that limited freedom, though she was the only one in askirt.

Judges also complimented Destyni Fuller on her jeans, which weredecorated with flags and stars for her performance of a patrioticsong, “For Freedom.”

Like most contestants, Moralez wore jeans for her performance ofPatsy Cline’s “Crazy.”

Others giving promising performances included returning contestantsMercedese Mannon and Caitlin Mansfield and newcomers Fuller andMariah Rogers, sister of 2006 Idol winner Samantha Rogers.

About 300 people filled the Egyptian to watch the 17 contestantsperform songs of their choice and four group numbers. The groupperformances in particular were noticeably more polished than inthe early weeks of past years’ competitions. Contestantcoordinator Stephanie Kilmer credited Marty Crouse for working withthe contestants in group rehearsals.

Making the judges’ work a little easier, one contestanteliminated herself from the competition before Thursday’sround. Danni Kimball had to drop out because her family was movingout of the area, master of ceremonies Mike the Bear of K-DOCK Radioannounced during the event.

That left only one of two eliminations for the night to judges KimHandsaker, Kevin Stufflebean and Dennis Lindall.

Blaze Jones forgot the words to “Concrete Angel” byMartina McBride, struggling through the first part of herperformance with the help of fellow contestants, who sang them forher from their seats in the audience. Jones recovered and finishedthe song, but she was not able to save her place in the running forthe Idol crown.