Suzanne Randle of Coos Bay reacts after winning the local Colgate Country Showdown on Saturday at the Coos County Fair, as finalist Koral Aakre looks on. Randle will compete Sept. 5 in the state contest at The Mill Casino-Hotel in North Bend.-World Photo by Alex Powers

MYRTLE POINT — A year ago, things were different for Suzanne Randle.

The Coos Bay native had been living in Nashville, Tenn., for six years trying to break into the country music business. She had her chances — she was featured in the pilot episode of a show for CMT that could have made her a star if it ever aired — but they didn’t pan out. Her family wanted her to come home.

“I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to do that just yet. I didn’t feel like I was done with music, but I wanted to come home for a while,” she said. “I needed to come home and remember why I love music and why I love singing and where my heart is with it.”

It turned out to be a good move.

In addition to reconnecting with her family and old friends, the 35-year-old single mother also entered a contest that could lead to her big break.

On Saturday at the Coos County Fair, she became the local winner of the Colgate Country Showdown. She’ll represent Coos County in the state competition Sept. 5 at The Mill Casino-Hotel in North Bend.

“I’m excited I get to sing my songs and have an audience,” she said. “And that there’s the possibility of making it one more level. It’s one step closer to Nashville.”

The state winner will go on to the Western regional, also at The Mill, and five regional winners will compete for the national prize of $100,000 in Nashville.

That was the path Hailey Stout took, winning the local competition in 2006 and going on to finish second nationally.

At the local final Saturday, Randle and the other finalists, Koral Aakre and Clint Guevara, each performed four songs in two sets. Guevara was off key in his first set but strong in the second, when he performed an original song that showed much improvement over his previous original effort.

Aakre, who was the crowd favorite Wednesday, showcased her range on ballads “Stand By Your Man” and “Broken Wing” and her stage presence on the upbeat songs “That Song in My Head” and “Flat on the Floor,” maintaining decent crowd support.

But it was Randle’s day, and it could have been over in the first set, when she blew away judges and audience alike with her original song “Lovin’ a Man with a Broken Heart,” a repeat from her lineup Wednesday, and Jamie O’Neal’s “There Is No Arizona.”

It was a dramatic change from the semifinal, when Randle seemed more reserved onstage.

“I told her, ‘You gotta work the stage,’” said Kara Saunders, a friend of Randle. “She really came out of her shell.”

Randle said she put so much energy into her performance Tuesday, when the local finals began at the fair, that she had little left for Wednesday. But she was back in full force Saturday, which was no surprise to those who had been following her through the contest.

“I knew from the beginning with her,” Saunders said. “She’s comfortable.”

Randle’s comfort with the stage was something that set her apart, according to judge Scott Bassett.

“She was real comfortable up there. She didn’t look like she was trying too hard,” Bassett said. “Her original song was good, too. I’m not sure you can win the final without an original. When you’re as close as those three were, you need those extra points.”

Contestants are judged on marketability in country music, vocal ability, originality, stage presence and talent, with bonus points available for original music. Teresa Stout and Gino Harpold also judged the contest, which is sponsored by hundreds of country music radio stations, including KSHORE and KJMX.

Performing her original song twice appeared to help Randle. She made a stronger impression with it the second time. Randle said she did that because it’s difficult for people hearing a song for the first time to respond to it.

“The second time, you hear the words a little more and you can see what they’re actually saying, what the meaning is, and you can get a little more of the feeling behind it.”

Randle said she is working on another original song that she hopes to have ready for the state competition.

Randle’s mother, Kay Mills of Coos Bay, recalled the first time she heard one of her daughter’s songs, saying it still brings tears to her eyes.

“I didn’t have any idea how passionate she was about her music,” Mills said. “It was amazing to hear her and realize how much talent she had. This is really a culmination of her hard work.”

Regardless of how far she goes in the competition, Randle plans to return to Nashville next year with her two sons, Schuyler, 15, and Chance, 12. She recalled the difficulty she had there before but wasn’t discouraged.

“Garth Brooks got turned down by every label in Nashville at least twice,” she said. “It’s hard. Maybe this will be my lucky thing.”

Entertainment editor Chip Dombrowski can be reached at 269-1222, ext. 243, or cdombrowski@theworldlink.com.