Sidney Jennings wins Breckenridge Idol competition
On Saturday evening, nine performers from Breckenridge and the surrounding areas took to the stage to compete in the 13th annual Breckenridge Idol competition. When the singing was done and the votes were tallied, Sidney Jennings of Graham was named the 2019 Breckenridge Idol.
After his guitar broke, Jacob Glick improvised and sang “Act Naturally” a cappella, including “air guitar.” The performance earned Glick second place in the contest. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
As the third contestant on the program, Jennings sang “Crazy,” a Grammy Award-winning song written by and made popular by Gnarls Barkley, a soul duo consisting of CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse (aka Thomas Callaway and Brian Burton). The judges based their scores on three criteria: vocal ability (60 percent), stage presence (30 percent) and the “It Factor” (10 percent).
As the Breckenridge Idol winner, Jennings received a $1,000 cash prize donated by David and Carol Whealy, owners of the Breckenridge McDonald’s restaurant, and a five-hour recording session at Roughwood Recording Studio in Weatherford, courtesy of owner Robert Snyder.
Coming in at second place was Jacob Glick of Breckenridge, who sang an a cappella version of “Act Naturally,” a song written by Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison and made popular by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos in 1963. Glick improvised his performance, including the “air guitar,” after a piece on his real guitar broke less than an hour before the performance. He was awarded $350.
The third place winner was Shelby Smith of Graham, who sang “One.” He won $150.
Also competing were:
- Robert Beatty of Breckenridge with “Amarillo by Morning”
- Hannah Pennartz of Breckenridge with “Rise Up”
- Hailey Vick of Breckenridge with “You Say”
- Kim McCoy of Breckenridge with “One Promise Too Late”
- John Nored of Breckenridge with “I’m Yours”
- Jamie Narvais of Ranger with “Never Enough”
The event, which took place at the Breck Trade Days Barn, included a welcome by Breckenridge Mayor Bob Sims and performances by past Breckenridge Idol winners Carl Garvin and Chasity Blevins.
The competition was the final event of the two-day Stephens County Frontier Days. Later Saturday night, blues singer Michael Lee of Fort Worth performed a free concert in the Breckenridge City Park as part of the city’s Centennial Celebration, held in conjunction with Frontier Days.
Click here to see the Breckenridge Texan photo gallery from the 2019 Breckenridge Idol competition.
Shelby Smith won third place with his rendition of “One.” (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
David and Carol Whealy, owners of the Breckenridge McDonald’s restaurant, presented Sidney Jennings with the $1,000 cash prize that they donated to the contest. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
Story by Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
Cutline, top photo: Sidney Jennings of Graham was named the 2019 Breckenridge Idol winner after her performance of “Crazy” garnered the highest score from the judges of the competition. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
