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August 1st, 2026: The Corridor Talent Search Finals
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
Saturday AUGUST 1ST was the FINALS for the 2026 Corridor Talent Search! The lack of
audience members supporting local talent was disappointing. With the Talent
Competition not breaking even this year, I'm contemplating about making it an annual
event. However, the show was filled with Talent. I opened up the show with a Mary Chapin Carpenter song, “Down at the Twist and Shout” Kevin emceed and Frank ran the Corridor Blend’s two hour segment, live from the Amana Performing Arts Center in Amana.
The show began at 3 pm with Kevin introducing the other four celebrity panel judges. Jim McDonough, Jessica Mar, Dave Paris and Jeff Johnson. Our first contestant was Bentley Davenport singing, “Forget You” , followed by Christopher Ross singing “Can't Take My Eyes Off of You”. Next up was Hanna Amun, who sang, “Be Her”, Mollie Collins sang, “Someone You Loved”. Then we ended the SEMI-FINALS with Scarlett Abben rocking “Easy on Me”. Us five judges scored the contestants in four categories, advancing the top three to the FINALS. After a brief intermission, I sang “Under The Boardwalk” with the help of all five contestants on stage and the audience singing back up!
The TOP THREE contestants were, HANNA AMUN, BENTLEY DAVENPORT and SCARLETT ABBEN! Fourth place went to MOLLIE COLLINS, while CHRIS ROSS took fifth. I believe the judges decision boiled down to stage presence. It was a tough competition as all the contestants were exceptional The contestants who didn't advance on to first place are able to compete again in future Corridor Talent Searches, while the first place winner will be invited back for special performance.
Bentley took to the stage singing “Jar of Hearts”, Hanna performed “Daddy's Lessons” and Scarlett sang “Rise Up”. Before Kevin announced the FIRST, SECOND and THIRD place winners he sang “Walkin’ after Midnight”. The audience voted and ballots were collected! Juanita Eiben was introduced and did a comedic version of “These Boots Are Made For Walkin”. Followed by Jessica Mar and Dad Duo, (Jeff Weimer) getting the crowd involved in singing “Country Roads”, her original called “Fighter” , while performing ASL to her song. We had her do an encore. So be sure to listen to the following podcast, to hear that song choice!
JC Tonic Endorsement 
I was welcomed back to the show to sing one last song titled, “Unchained Melody”.
With the TOP THREE brought back on stage, Kevin sang a parody of the song, “My Way”!
SCARLETT ABBEN took THIRD place with a $250 gift certificate to Siegel's Jewelry,
BENTLEY DAVENPORT placed RUNNER-UP with a ($390 value) recording and final mix
session at Wall Of Sound Productions. And the $500 cash, FIRST place prize went to
HANNA AMUN.
The FAYE DUDLEY PRODUCTION CREW (TODD YOUNG, KRISTI DUDLEY, DEREK DUDLEY, ANITA AND RON KURTH, PAULA PLOTZ, and KYLA GOTT) who all did an amazing job! A big thanks to my producer, FRANK BALVANZ and JERRY WRIGHT with Classic KMRY.
Thanks to all of our sponsors:
RESTAURANT & BAR, WEBSPEC, SIEGEL’S JEWELRY, TKM THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS, THE STADIUM BAR & GRILL, THE IDEAL THEATER & COCKTAIL BAR, BUCHONA’S SPORTS BAR & GRILL, THE FUN STATION, CLASSIC KMRY and CORRIDOR ENTERTAINMENT! A special thanks to our private donors, Robert and Deb Van Dolah and Jean Smith.
Tune in Saturday's to our LIVE radio show from 5-7pm on
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