Sing in front of Alex Boyè and get a chance to win $6,000
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STAR VALLEY, Wyoming — A small town is hitting it big time with a local singing competition that has attracted the attention of performer Alex Boyè.
Swift Idol in Star Valley, Wyoming, started in 2016 on the back of a flatbed trailer and a $500 grand prize. The singing competition has grown to a point where this year’s grand prize is $6,000, and Alex Boyè will join the competition as one of the three judges. Best of all, Idahoans are invited to audition.
“(Swift Idol) started out very small. We just did this as a way to have an event to give us exposure during a small community festival,” Swift Idol host Duke Dance told EastIdahoNews.com.
Swift Idol got its name from the Star Valley radio station that kicked it off, Swift 98.7. By its second year, the competition had gotten enough attention that it was hosted at the local county fair and offered a $1,000 prize.
“The experience, overall, was really rewarding. I enjoyed it,” 2017 Swift Idol winner Case Tippetts said.
Dance said the competition continued to grow, and in 2018 the prize jumped to $3,000. Roughly 17,000 people voted in the competition that year.
“At that point, we thought, ‘Hey, we got something really cool here.’ So we just continued to build it and grow it into what it is this year, where we have a $6,000 prize and Alex Boyè,” Dance said.
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With Swift Idol gaining so much popularity, Dance said they want people from all around to audition this year.
“We want people from Idaho and Utah. We want people from the entire region to audition. We’re trying to find the very best vocal talent not just in Star Valley but everywhere in the area,” Dance said.
Auditions open Monday and close June 15 at midnight. Those 12 years old and up who want to audition need to upload an audio file of them singing acapella to swiftidol.com.
Eight people will be selected by the last week of June to compete on stage at the Lincoln County Fair on August 2.
The eight competitors will sing in front of 2004 Miss Wyoming Shelby Thatcher, 2018 Swift Idol winner E.J. Pauni and Boyè in the first round. The judges will choose four singers to move on to the second round. The audience, either watching the competition in person or watching the live stream, will vote to pick the champion.
To those who are considering auditioning, Tippets has some advice:
“Don’t really consider it. Just do it. You don’t have anything to lose.”