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Ballina Idol News

And the Winners of the Ballina Idol 2021 competition are....

1st Place: Sam Green, 18 years old from Wollongbar NSW

2nd Place: Boy Blue, 18 years old from Cabarita Beach NSW
3rd Place: Jade Stoddart, 18 years old from Tweed Heads

Such an excellent day of entertainment at an iconic venue.

The sun was shining with a light breeze which created the perfect backdrop for the grand finale. The beergarden was full and the audience were engaged and having fun from the moment they arrived!! Our competitors began arriving ahead of start time, all with their game heads on, feeling confident and ready to shine. 

One by one they took to the stage and blitzed their rounds. 

The judges didn't have an easy decision to make because the level of each performance was through the roof!!
They were judged on their ability to engage the audience, stage presentation, song choices and skill levels with both vocals and instruments, it was neck in neck. 

First act to kick off the round was Chillingham Duo "Meridian Flow" with Allira on drums and vocals and Leif on guitar and vocals, their funky originals lit up the audience and set the bar. 

Next was local keyboard player and all round good guy Phil R'Monics who also got funky with his style and pumped up the audience a lil more.. 

Then from Wollongbar, it was Sam Green's turn and that's exactly what he did, he turned it on big time with his jazzy take on some good old classics on keys. Sam's smooth and soothing voice captivated the audience and left everyone speechless. 

Then it was brother and sister duo from Ballina "Mali & Taran Heffernan" Mali on keys and vocals and Taran on guitar and vocals, they are a breath of fresh air to watch work together. 

The 5th act from Tweed Heads was the beautiful and most angelic Miss Jade Stoddart. Jade started her day off with originals which was really great to see and hear her have the confidence to own her own material and she finished the day off with a Queen medley.

Last but not least was Caba "Boy Blue" with a completely different style and blew the audience away with his rendition of Stairway to heaven. A true showstopper, Boy ROCKED!! 

It was a magical day and a fantastic way to end what has been a fabulous competition!! 

All 3 were deserving winners and were presented with their prizes, certificates ( poster size) and trophies to take home.

It was such a hard decision to make and we take our hat off to the judges who were fully invested in making the right choice based on all categories they were judged on. 

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Originally the first and second prize winners were to receive gigs as part of their prizes however all three were so impressive that they all stand to be booked by the venue. So they're all winners!!! Awesome outcome!!!

HUGE thanks to the judges:  Professional musicians and local duo Tapestry Road's Judd Brennand & Robynn Goddard

(vocal coach) plus Ray Arnott who is also a professional musician/drummer and industry vet who toured the world and played with AC/DC to name one. We also had a pub representative judging who was an original judge on the very first Ballina Idol held at the RSL some 10+ years ago. 

The talk of the beergarden was a mixed bag with people loving each act for different reasons. As I say, it was magical. 

The video of the Grand final and winners performances is available now to watch on the video link or on the facebook page Ballina Idol. 

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Let me tell you about the winners OF THE SEMI FINAL!!

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If you were there, then you already know and if you weren't there, then let me tell you what a fantastic day of entertainment we saw through the semi finals of Ballina Idol last Saturday June 12, 2021  at The Aussie Hotel.

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It was a cloudy day and the temp stayed low 20's all day with a nice breeze which made for perfect conditions !! 

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