The Forum is once again putting on the Fargo Star competition this year, and already two NDSU students have made their way to the finals.
Mary Jo Hotzler, deputy editor at The Forum, was one of the individuals who started the contest five years ago. She says they had an idea to do an "American Idol" spinoff of sorts, with a trip to an "Idol" audition offered as a grand prize.
"A few of us were sitting around, thinking that we could do something like ‘Idol' here," Hotzler said, adding that the first competition was put together in just a matter of weeks. "It was small then compared to what we have now, but we knew it had potential when we looked around at the very first Fargo Star event and saw that the place was packed," she continued.
It's the first year entering the contest for Shelby Heimbuch, a sophomore triple-majoring in apparel, retail merchandise and design, public relations and pre-law. She travels throughout the summer and competes at events like the North Dakota State Fair, and she approaches music as more than just a hobby and perhaps a back-up plan. In addition to being an NDSU student, she's currently taking lessons at the Elevate Rock School here in Fargo.
Heimbuch says she's been singing since around 8 years old and writing songs since she was 10. She doesn't see herself as outwardly musical, so she prefers to write her feelings as a song with an overall message or theme. Her sound is derived from influences like Dave Matthews, Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and Miranda Lambert, and she performed Sugarland's "Stay" for her audition.
"You can only go so far with luck, and you have to take yourself the rest of the way," Heimbuch said. She already plans on getting to an American Idol audition one way or another if she doesn't win Fargo Star, since she's hoping to get her foot in the door on the music scene. However, she sees this as a much easier way to do it financially. At the moment, she's thinking about performing something by Carrie Underwood for the finals.
Jordan Thornburg, another NDSU student, is giving the contest another shot this year. The senior, studying business administration with a minor in music, has advanced to the finals twice now.
"I made it to the finals last year, and my sister said I should try to go for it again. The last two winners had entered it in years previously, so I figured why not try again," Thornburg said.
He's considering singing the Johnny Cash classic "Folsom Prison Blues" for the finals but says nothing is set in stone just yet. For his audition, played guitar while singing a cover of the Bee Gee's hit "Stayin' Alive," because he says it's a fun song to do. He rendered it an octave lower though, citing the fact that he sings baritone in the NDSU Concert Choir.
"Ideally, I just want to get as much exposure out of this as possible," Thornburg said. "I know it's hard to get into the music industry, and it's such a winner-take-all market. There are a lot of great bands and artists out there that people don't know about. I think it would be great to get into the singer/songwriter genre though," he added.
Thornburg started singing in elementary school and has more recently begun writing his own songs, claiming to have two completed and a few works in progress currently. Some of his material is soft and based on crushes he's had, but a song he titled "Stoplights" is an edgy, bluesy, metaphorical tune about a homeless man teaching him life's lessons.
Hotzler touts the competition as an opportunity for young people like Heimbuch and Thornburg to get noticed.
"It has given a lot of people an outlet for showcasing their talents," Hotzler mentioned. "Because of the way we have our paper and website set up, and because we get so much traffic through them, there's an opportunity for aspiring singers or people just looking to have fun to have so many eyes on them," she explained.
The competition is set up in three waves of auditions, and is currently in its third week of voting. The two competitors who receive the most votes advance to the finals automatically, and all remaining competitors are pooled into a fourth week of voting afterward. The top four performers from that week advance to the finals, which is scheduled to happen Feb. 25 at The Venue at The Hub.
Heimbuch earned her spot during the first week of voting, while Thornburg was chosen just last week, pulling in 26 percent of the roughly 25,000-vote tally. All performers will have musical backing from Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome during their final performances, which will happen before a panel of judges and an audience that will decide on a winner. For more information or to vote online, visit fargostar.areavoices.com.
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