About The Judges

Each year the Ohio Idol contest chooses a panel of distinguished professionals, including performers, agents, recording engineers, voice teachers and more.

Judges for the 2012 Ohio Idol Contest

  Paulina Trunzo

Paulina earned her BFA, cum laude, in Musical Theatre from Pace University in New York City. While in college, she had the opportunity to study under respected instructors such as Bob Cline, John Ruocco, Rob Meffe, Beth Morrison, and Michael Cassara. Paulina plans to one day go back to school and pursue her MA/PhD in Theatre.

Before attending college, Paulina graduated from John Casablancas as a teenager, and also studied theatre at The Beck Center for the Arts in Cleveland, Ohio. Having fallen in love with the stage at the young age of eight, Paulina has performed in over thirty professional, regional, college, and community productions in New York and Ohio. She appeared in a national Nickelodeon commercial as well as two independent movies, and has acted as a radio personality on Magic Communications Network with her father, DJ legend Terry Lee of Pittsburgh, PA.

Paulina recently finished writing her first musical entitled CHASING, with music by Michael J. Petee, an accomplished musical artist who was formerly part of the rock band Silverhorse. She plans to debut her musical comedy in 2012.

While in New York City, Paulina worked at a talent agency in Times Square.

Jonalee White (Nashville Country Star)
Jonalee White’s bubbly personality, big smile, and contagious laugh can put anyone at ease. With the combination of a sultry country voice and mature writing styles, Jonalee boasts an energy and passion for country music that will draw you in and bring you back for more.

With over 100,000+ spins at country radio, Jonalee has had 5 Top 40 singles (“I Break” (2007), “Sunday Paper” (2008), “Wake Me” (2008) and “Perfect Angel” (2009), including the recent single “Naked As Fools,” from her eagerly awaited sophomore album “Sugar” via Lick Records. The music video for “Naked As Fools” debuted on CMT Pure Country in May and can be viewed at CMT.com, GAC.com, Yahoo! Music,

Born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, she eventually made it south to Lexington, Kentucky where she graduated college with a Master’s in school counseling. Now residing in Cincinnati, Ohio, her fans can expect an upbeat show full of songs that will touch your heart as well as keep you dancing in the aisles!

John Schwab ( Lead Singer of McGuffey Lane)
If you ask John Schwab what he does for a living he will probably say something like “hey 35 years without a day job, not bad huh?” In reality nothing could be further from the truth. Playing solo gigs, entertaining at corporate events and weddings with The John Schwab Party Band plus 40 or so concerts a year as lead singer for the legendary McGuffey Lane should keep him pretty busy don’t you think? Oh….. did we mention he owns a studio? John Schwab Recording is the premier original music production studio in Columbus Ohio and has been for over 10 years. Were not even going to mention his record label, jingle production company or booking agency because the main thing he likes to do is sing and play the guitar.

 

Amanda Carmen
Now entering her third year teaching voice at Cincinnati Music Academy (CMA), soprano Amanda Carmen Bower is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Music Education with a concentration in Voice. In accordance with her belief that performance enhances vocal instruction, Amanda is an active professional singer in the community. In August of 2009, Amanda was accepted into Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble, now under the direction of Donald Nally (Lyric Opera of Chicago).This spring, Amanda will be student teaching at Kings High School and J.F. Burns Elementary School.

 

Yvonne Sanson ( Singer/ Songwriter )
Yvonne is a singer/songwriter with great enthusiasm and talent when it comes to music. She was raised in a very musically inclined family in Fredericktown, Ohio and started singing with her parents in church at the age of 4. Yvonne knew at an early age that music would play a very important part of her life.

While residing in both the Nashville, TN. and Muscle Shoals, AL. area, Yvonne worked professionaly in many areas of the music industry. First and formost Yvonne loved working as a professional songwriter with SONY, RCA, Major Bob Music, Lyric Street, and FAME Recording. During this time, Yvonne had the opportunity to co-write with Randy Travis, on the song “America Will Always Stand” after the 911 tragedy.

Many of the songs that Yvonne has either written or co-written have caught the attention of Nashville’s major Publishing Companies as well as Performing Artists such as: Kenny Rogers, Gretchen Wilson, The Back Street Boys, Disney Studios, Sara Evans, Faith Hill, as well as others.

 

Steve Wise, CEO of Ohio Idol & In Tune Promotions LLC.
The idea of Ohio Idol came from CEO of InTune Promotions Steve Wise. Steve realized there was so much talent going unnoticed in contests like The X Factor, America’s Got Talent and American Idol. What home audiences see on TV is only a tiny portion of the best and the worst of the thousands of talented people who apply. He recognized a need for a competition solely for the talent of Ohio. He also hopes that those who participate in Ohio Idol can use this experience to help prepare for other competitions.

Steve Cover ( Entertainment Resource Group, LLC )
Steve has booked and produced shows in 39 states for some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry including James Taylor, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, Three Dog Night, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell, and Kellie Pickler to name a few. His experience includes managing and booking artists, producing concerts, managing tours, and 13 years as the State Film Commissioner and Director of the Ohio Film Commission.

As film commissioner, Steve worked with all the major Hollywood studios and production companies, convincing movie directors and producers to film on location in Ohio. Some of the more than 75 films he has worked on include The Shawshank Redemption, Air Force One, Traffic, The Horse Whisperer, Airborne, My Summer Story, and the The Rainmaker.

Judging Philosophy:
The primary goal of the judges is to fairly arrive at a series of decisions on which performers will advance in the contest. The judges follow a confidential and fair scoring process. The judges also have a goal to offer the performers criticism and advice that is constructive and useful for the performer, both in the contest and in their singing careers, while also being positive and supportive. Having fun at the performers expense is not what the Ohio Idol contest is about. The advice you will receive will range from voice technique, microphone control, body movement, costume and stage presence.

Judging Criteria:
Judging: There will be a total of six judges at each round of the competition. The first round will be a cappella. All judges will verbally critique and score each contestant after each performance. The top 10 scores from the TOP 50 finalist at Red White & Boom will move onto the finale at the Ohio State Fair. All judges’ decisions are final.

Scoring: 2nd & 3rd rounds
Each performance will receive up to 50 points per judge.
Technique 10 points
Performance 10 points
Appearance 10 points
Staging/ choreography 10 points
Overall Impression 10 points

Deductions:
Deductions of up to 10 points will be taken away from the total score for material that is deemed unsuitable for family viewing (language, costume, choreography, music) and up to a five point deduction for any other rules infraction. All deductions will be issued by one designated Ohio Idol staff member (Steve Wise CEO & Producer). All decisions are final.

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