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Heartland Idol rocks the Circle

Christy Swift, Highlands Today

Jennifer Buchanan of Sebring delivered a powerful performance of Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” Thursday evening and successfully moved on to the next round of semi-finals of Heartland Idol.

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By CHRISTY SWIFT

For Highlands Today

Published: October 24, 2009

SEBRING - You could sum up the Heartland Idol Classic Rock Semi-final with one word: leather.

From black leather jackets to six-inch heeled ankle boots to shiny leather body-hugging pants, the 26 contestants went all out on costumes as they fought to stay in the competition, performing classic rock tunes from the '60s, '70s and '80s.

Singing to approximately 450 people in the Sebring Circle, some contestants rocked the house, while others fell flat, going pitchy and missing notes, mostly due to ambitious song choices, such as tunes by rock bands like Queen.

"Song choice is really important in this competition," reiterated judge Mike Henry, and the rest of the panel a number of times during the evening.

Credence Clearwater Revival was the most popular band, and most of the performers maximized their stage presence, climbing (or jumping) down from the stage to sing in front of the judges and to intermingle with the audience.

Kevin Lorne, 44, from Lake Placid was the jumper. "Even if you don't like rock music, I want you to close your eyes and imagine you love this kind of music. You can't get enough of it!" he told the crowd during his instrumental introduction. He sang "We're an American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad, jumping off the stage at one point to whoops and screams from the audience.

The judges were similarly impressed. "Your stage presence was phenomenal. Fantastic job," said Vickie Jones.

Henry added, "For me, that's the song of the night!" Guest judge Rob Viera said, "You hit it! You brought it!" Jim McCollum, typically the toughest critic, had this to say: "You were a six pack of Sam Adams tonight! You're gonna be tough to beat!"

Mark Brignoni, 22, from Sebring, came out to do a Kiss number. He sang "Beth" with a big black star painted over his left eye. Brignoni came down from the stage to sing to the judges, and even went behind them to interact with the crowd - his signature move.

During the judging Jones told him, "I didn't want to like this song, and I'll tell you why. My ex-husband's name was Mark and he cheated with a woman named Beth ... but you did a fabulous job. It touched my heart."

Added Viera, "Not to get all sappy on you or anything, but when I closed my eyes I felt like I was at a Kiss concert."

Brignoni won the People's Choice award, garnering the most applause from audience members and taking home tickets to Bok Tower Gardens for his entire family.

Julie Temple, 48, of Lake Placid had some fun with McCollum when she sang, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar.

The audience whooped and hollered as she pointed and sang directly to McCollum, who even had "Simon" embroidered on his Heartland Idol shirt that evening.

McCollum noted her powerful voice and complimented her on great stage presence and costume. "You had the whole bit," he said. "You hit us with your best shot."

Other semi-finalists who will move on to the next round include Timothy Anderson, Jennifer Buchanan, Tiffany Elliott, Jarred Gravley, Gary Laird, Shannon Marrero, Andrea Mathis, Amy McCoy, Amanda Mercer, Julie Newell, Michelle Rogers, Jennifer Taylor and Tiffany Zarko.

The 16 contestants will compete next Thursday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. in the Sebring Circle. The theme is soundtracks and showtunes. For more information on Heartland Idol visit www.heartland idol.com.

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