Last year, when Kiera participated in Southaven Idol, there was one clear winner from the high school. Kiera was--keep in mind--still in middle school and was therefore in a different class/category. The crowd's clear favorite from the start was a young man named Skyelor. The girls were crazy for him--some even brought signs, but it wasn't his voice that caught my eye--it was his charisma.
In fact, when my mom suggested he try out for the choir, both Kiera and I thought he was probably not choir material. At least not the concert choir. His real talent was just that, as a young 16 year old kid, he looked far more comfortable on stage than any of the other kids. He had actual stage presence.
As we made it through the first round and into the second, it was already clear he was going to win. And, as I watched him perform in the final round, I thought: Wow, Kiera is going to be competing against this kid for the next two years? He's 16 and he already has a groupie following; that's hard to beat.
Skyelor's niche? Country. A black country singer. Where have I seen this before?
Ahhh, yes, Hootie.
Nonetheless, gimmick or bonafide style, it was successful.
Skyelor drove to Chicago earlier this year to audition for X-Factor. He even made it through a couple of rounds until this past one (yesterday)--just one cut from the top 16 (and viewer's choice). Again, the voice needs some work, but the stage presence may take him places. I wish I could take that presence and bottle it up. As it stands now, we've probably got a couple of years before Southaven Idol is attainable. Afterall, the boy has 549k Google results. You just can't compete with that in high school!
Also, having personally met//talked to the kid, I can say with complete uncertainty that this is one thoughtful, humble and genuine kid...errr, young man. Kiera agrees. It's satisfying when good things happen to good people.
