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Myranda Figueroa, left, and Josette Kimmel are the new Copper Basin Idols. (Nina Crowder photo)
By Nina Crowder
The Copper Basin Idol was held at the Hayden-Winkelman Auditorium on Friday, May 10, and winning the contest was Josette Kimmel. Myranda Figueroa was named Junior Copper Basin Idol.
This event has been directed by Martina Burnam for the past eight years. She said this event with others helps to build confidence for our youth. The commentator who kept everything running smooth was Luciano Romero.
Julianna Borquez, the Copper Basin Idol from 2012, started the show by singing The National Anthem. Since winning the Copper Basin Idol last year, she has performed at many local events including Women’s Expo, Fourth of July, Pioneer Days and the recent Pinal County Victims Rights week event in Casa Grande. Borquez has a beautiful voice and it is a pleasure to hear her sing.
Julie Meza, the Copper Basin Junior Idol 2012, has performed at many local events including Fourth of July, Women’s Expo, Oktoberfest, Winter Wonderland and Pioneer Days. Julie attends Ray Junior High School and enjoys sports.
All participants sang and danced to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” They even had Jordyn Avelar dressed as a wolf who danced his way through the stage, adding a little fright to get the evening rolling. Nancy Hinojos helped with the choreography to “Thriller.” Jordyn also helped backstage with lights and curtains.
The Copper Basin Junior Idol contestants began with Izzy Kimmel singing “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. Then Myranda Figueroa belted out “Set Fire To The Rain” by Adele. Both these young ladies performed very well dancing and singing across the stage.
The Copper Basin Idol contestants were next with Josette Kimmel singing “Done” by the band Perry. Following Josette was Maria Avenetti singing “The Boys” by Girls Generation. These beautiful young ladies have amazing voices and performed with style and grace.
There were many guest performers including classy Johnny Silva Jr. performing Frank Sinatra. Other guest performers were Johnny Silva, Luciano Romero, Gabriella Montano, Ariella Borquez and GMann.
The judges were Danny Fessenden, Veronica Bracamonte, Johnny Silva and score tallier was Leyesa Rought. Behind the scenes special thanks go to Annie Hinojos and Romon Padilla.
Thanks to the event sponsors: Family First, Resolution Copper Mining, Pinal County Building and Town of Winkelman, Hayden-Winkleman Unified School District, Copper Basin News and the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Copper Basin Chamber of Commerce.
All the young people who were brave enough to get up on stage and sing their hearts out deserve a big applause. There are many talented young people right here in our area. For those contestants that did not win you are very talented and don’t ever give up on your passion. Remember to keep singing and having fun!
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