SAFFORD — Three people have qualified for Gila Valley Idol 2022, two have been asked to try again and one is hoping your vote can get her into the finals.
The first preliminary for Gila Valley Idol 2022 took place Thursday at the Double R Grill at Mt. Graham Golf Course, and judges selected Timothy Fox, of Safford, Harley Lofgreen, of Pima and Leila Bulis, of Safford to advance to the finals.
Fox sang “When the Party’s Over.”
“I tried to think of a song that would be really powerful and really impactful without music, and I think I did that,” Fox said.
Lofgreen sang “Let Me Down Easy” and Bulis sang “Tin Man.”
“I was super nervous, because I choose the song today,” Bulis said.
Selected to perform again at the call-back night, March 10 at the Graham County Chamber of Commerce, was Hunter Chamberlain, who sang “The Dance,” and Taylor Thygerson, who sang “Twenty-six Cents.”
Kienna Van Shaar was selected as an alternate. One alternate from the six preliminaries will move into the finals based on voting by the public on GilaValleyCentral.net.
Judges for the first preliminary were 2008 Gila Valley Idol winner Adam Crohn, who also performed “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,”2017 winner Darryn Kamae and 2018 winner Pete McCormick.
The audience was also treated to a performance by 2016 Gila Valley Idol winner Brianna Morris, accompanied by her brother, Nick DeRusha.
Performances can be viewed on GilaValleyCentral.net and the Kat Kountry Facebook page.
The next preliminary will take place Thursday, Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m., at The Venue on Main in Safford, and the finals will take place March 24 at the David M. Player Center for the Arts.
Sponsors of Gila Valley Idol include: Valley Telecom; OneAZ Credit Union; The Stadium Club; Freeport-McMoRan; Richard’s Music; The Double R Grill; Valley Furniture and Appliance; Tyson Richins-Edward Jones Investments; Swire Coca-Cola; Trophies ‘N Tees; and Double R Communications stations Kat Kountry 94.5 FM, Sunny 102.3 FM and KATO Am 1230.
