By Chip Dombrowski, Entertainment Editor

Ten contestants will compete in local finals next week at Coos County Fair; two will go to state

On Tuesday, Colgate Country Showdown judges will select two slates of three finalists. One group will get a day to prepare, competing in the first final on Wednesday. The others will have until Saturday for the second final.

Contestants are judged on a scale of 1 to 10 in marketability in country music, vocal and/or instrumental ability, originality, stage presence and talent, with up to three bonus points possible for songwriting.

In the local contest, sponsored by KSHORE and KBDN radio stations, judges are Dean Conyers, Gaylene Adamson and Beth Gipson.

Conyers has five decades of experience as a professional drummer, mainly in Sacramento, Calif. Since retiring to Bandon, he has been involved in musical theater, including productions of “Always Patsy Cline.”

Adamson has been a music teacher for 20 years, teaching both privately and at public schools including Southwestern Oregon Community College, where she directed jazz and chamber choirs.

Gipson, has been singing with various choral groups for decades, as well as playing violin and piano. Before becoming a North Bend insurance agent, she was involved with a touring group that performed at Disneyland.

Aireannah Haga

15, North Bend



Haga is competing for the first time. A sophomore at North Bend High School, she’s the second-youngest contestant in the showdown.

Though she’s a relatively new performer, she’s demonstrated a commanding stage presence in her showdown performances, bringing a loyal and vociferous cheering section.

Even after a mishap when she forgot the words to “Before He Cheats” in the last round, she remains fearless on stage.

“I’m not worried about anything,” she said of her future in the contest.

Clint Guevara

18, North Bend



Guevara is competing in the showdown for a third time, having reached the local final last year and semifinals in 2007, when he also won the Bay Area Teen Idol contest. Those accomplishments have set a high standard for him in the showdown.

“Hopefully I can do my best,” he said. “I love doing this.”

Though he hasn’t used any original music this year in the contest, he did last year at the fair and likely will do so again.

Guevara has also been a regular performer at Little Theatre on the Bay’s Little Ole Opry, where he will sing Saturday.

Kelly Coolen

18, North Bend



Coolen is back in the showdown for a second time after a four-year absence with busy summers during high school.

“I wanted to wait until my voice was more matured,” she said.

Her strong performances and the reaction they’ve drawn suggest she picked a good time to come back.

“I liked the songs I chose,” she said. “They were fun.”

In the meantime, she has been a regular performer at Little Theatre on the Bay’s Little Ole Opry, and has sung with local band the Young Bucs.

Melanie Mullins

23, North Bend



Mullins has been a regular competitor in the showdown who has done well in the past and improved with time. She was particularly impressive in the June 11 preliminary round when she performed an original song, one of about 15 in her collection.

Audiences can expect another original at the fair, she said, despite her nerves after the last performance.

“I came back stage and said, ‘I have to sit down,’” she said.

Mullins is one of only two local contestants to post a bio and mp3 on the showdown Web site, www.kshr.com.

Micah Langley

20, North Bend



Langley, a three-time contestant, has been wowing crowds with his performances in this year’s showdown. In 2006, he made it to the national finals of the Teen Talent vocal competition.

Since his days in Bay Area Teen Idol, he’s been known as a singer whose strength is showing emotion through song.

“I can put on a show sometimes, but when I’m singing something that is supposed to touch the heart, it comes through more,” he said. “It sucks that I’m in a competition where you can’t just sing songs like that.”

Mikhala Smith

13, Bandon



Smith competed this year for the first time, along with her mother, Dawn, who was eliminated in the last round of competition before the fair. She’s been singing songs written by her parents, especially her late father, Michael B. Smith, and playing guitar in the showdown.

An eighth-grader at Harbor Lights Middle School, she said the challenge for her has been being the youngest in the competition.

“It’s a little bit nervewracking,” she said. “Knowing that I made it (to the fair) makes it better.”

Sara Martin

18, North Bend



Since winning Bay Area Teen Idol in 2004, Martin has competed several times in the showdown, reaching as far as local semifinals. This year, she’s impressed both crowds and her fellow contestants, many of whom cited her as a favorite.

After the most recent round of competition in June, Martin said she was considering adding another element to her performance by playing the piano at the fair.

But “the idea stresses me out,” she said, explaining she hasn’t ever played while singing for an audience. “I don’t want to mess it up.”

Talitha McClary

17, North Bend



McClary has competed in the showdown before, but this is her first time making it to the fair.

She said she’s been happy with her performances this year, when she has done “Concrete Angels,” “Bad For Me” and “New Favorite.”

“I put a lot of emotion into it,” she said. “You have to put your heart into it — and have fun.”

And that she does — fellow contestants describe her as always fun. Many of them have gone to school with her at North Bend High School, where she is a senior.

Tony Pappas

69, Coquille



Pappas got a record deal in 1975 after moving to Los Angeles, where he played original songs, including the ones he’s used in the showdown, for 20 years before retiring to Coquille. Before L.A., he and his brother played in a San Francisco area country night club for 13 years.

It’s an impressive record. But the contest is seeking the best new act in country music, and his decades of experience can actually count against him in marketability.

“I’ve relied on the strength of my songwriting ability,” Pappas said. “I know how to act on stage. I’ve been doing it a long time.”

Trevor Berrian

18, North Bend



Berrian is a first-time contestant and a relatively new performer, but he has an impressive collection of original songs. All of his showdown performances have been originals, and he’s the only contestant who’s brought a band.

“I’m a fan of originality,” he said. “You have more control when you’re playing your own instruments.”

He also has done musical theater at Little Theatre on the Bay, where he will be performing Saturday in Little Ole Opry, and is an accomplished runner.

“It’s always a learning experience.”

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