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Just what is it that takes place in the talent contest at The National Quartet Convention, other than singers getting on stage and trying to give the performance of their lives? Well, I was able to get a few minutes with one of the judges after this years contest, and I thought that you might like to know what?s going on in the minds of the judges while you singers are trying to impress these people. Let me say that I have very mixed feelings about talent contests. I can see some benefits to them, but I have also seen contestants devastated by the results. So, with that said, let?s see what Rick Shelton, the judge that I was able to talk with has to say. The talent contest during the National Quartet Convention is run by the fine folks at Son Sound Studios under the authority and sanction of the NQC. The judges are picked by the NQC administration from people within the industry. On a personal note, Rick has already judged seven contests this year. So he does have plenty of experience in judging talent contests. The judges are looking at eight different areas including Pronunciation, Pitch, Tone Placement, Song Selection, Interpretation, Originality, Stage Presence, and Marketability. The interesting thing to me was that the judges rated on a score of 1 to 10 and handed in their tallies, and that was the end of their influence on the winner of the contest. The total score though is presented as a weighted score, meaning that certain areas carry more weight in the tally than others do. Even the judges do not know what categories carry more weight than the others, so that does leave a little mystery to the whole thing. I did ask about competing against children, because who wants to go on stage after these cute little kids performed. Actually the judges do not consider the ?cuteness? of children singing, but rather the same eight categories as everybody else. So, now, you can take a deep breath if you are going on after one of those cute little kids. As a matter of fact, the judges already have their scores completed by the time the audience gives that great response to the children singing. One important thing to remember is that you are NOT judged against other competitors, but against the eight categories the judges are looking for. Do the judges take into consideration that the contestants are only part-timers? "If they are going to stand on the NQC stage with the pros they should be judged with pro standards," answered Rick Shelton. Rick says that all of the judges are confident that the winners are justly picked. Well, I did ask Rick, in his opinion, what are the advantages of participating in these types of contests? Here are three very distinct advantages he gave: 1. You never know what industry people are there. It is a fact that I did see several record company reps there. 2. Groups looking for new members are there. As a matter of fact, I was there seeing if there were any people that we might be interested in for our group, so I guess he was right about that too. 3. The reward for winning is great. Not only do you receive recording time, but as the winner you get to sing in front of 20,000 people at the concert that night. 4. Being in the contest does give you some bragging rights and credibility just for being there. 5. It does give each group a certain amount of networking ability. The main thing that Rick wanted to stress was that the judges are not judging you personally, so you should not take it personal. Everybody has good days and bad days and you may not have had a really good day as the judges were looking at you. Rick really wanted me to express that all of the judges agree in saying, ?We want to see all of the groups and artists succeed.? I hope that this is an encouragement to those who have entered talent contests and left feeling downcast and disappointed. Deon Unthank

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