SAFFORD — The judges had their work cut out for them at the 2026 Gila Idol Preliminary at The Venue on Main on Thursday.
They selected Marie Nicholson, Ky Brimhall and Jake Richardson to advance to the Gila Idol finals.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
Brimhall sang “Rise Up,” while Richardson performed “Beautiful Things.”
“Last year, I sang a song that was pretty easy; it was easy to sing and there wasn’t much movement. This year, I tried to do a harder song, and, yeah, I did OK,” Richardson said.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
Meanwhile, Nicholson, who sang “American Honey,” said she’s letting inspiration come to her.
“I didn’t even know what I was going to sing tonight,” Nicholson said. “I came in thinking I was going to sing something else, and changed it when I went up there because I thought I would forget the words.”
All three will perform at the Gila Idol Finals on March 26 at the David M. Player Center for the Arts.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
Two others will have a chance to make the finals, after the judges selected them to take part in call-back night March 12. They are Skai Wahl-Mendez, who sang “Rumour Has It,” and Lila Milar, who sang “I Want You Back.”
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
The judges also selected two alternates, Marlee Redford, who sang “Cowboy Life,” and Madison Jarvis, who sang “Talking to the Moon.” At least one alternate will be selected at each preliminary and, in the week before the finals, the public will vote on the performances on GilaValleyCentral.net. The top vote-getter will become a finalist.
Judges were 2018 Gila Idol winner Pete McCormick, 2011 winner Sharon Montoya and 2008 Gila Idol winner Adam Crohn, who opened the evening with a performance of “Blue Christmas.” In addition, 2016 winner Brianna DeRusha-Baxter joined with Joe Baxter to perform two songs, “East Virginia Blues” and “Ocean of Diamonds” during the judges’ deliberation.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
All of Thursday’s performances can be viewed on the Gila Idol 2026 page at Gila Valley Central.
The next preliminary will take place Thursday, Feb. 12, at 6:30 p.m. during the Matheson Music Festival at the Graham County Fairgrounds Ag Building. Admission is free.
Registrations to take part in Gila Idol are still being accepted. Click here to register.
Sponsors for 2026 Gila Idol include Valley Telecom Group; Richard’s Music Co.; Trophies ‘N Tees; Freeport-McMoRan; Valley Furniture and Appliance; the Graham County Chamber of Commerce; OneAZ Credit Union; The Venue and Vignette on Main; Keyhole Properties; Pepsi; Tyson Richins-Edward Jones Investments; Apache Gold Casino; Mack’s Napa Auto Parts; Valley Vision; and the Double R Communications family of radio stations, Kat Kountry 94.5 FM, Sunny 102.3 FM and KATO 1230 AM.
