Seven high school students sang their hearts out Thursday night in the Performing Arts Center, but in the end, only one was crowned the 2015 winner of Oxford Idol.
That was junior Tori Spring.
‘I put a lot of work into this year’s songs,? she said. ‘I (competed) last year and I got second place, so I was striving to get first place this year.?
‘It was a really good experience and it was really fun to do. I’m glad I got to do it with all these cool people,? Spring added.
She competed against Tiffany Goodman, Lily Nicks, Casey Wright, Emily Overture, Sierra Duda and Maya Wilde.
The annual singing competition was divided into three rounds.
Round one consisted of pop songs, round two featured showtunes and round three showcased ‘throwback? songs from the 1950s through 1990s.
Spring started out by singing ‘Valerie,? a song released by The Zutons, an English Indie Rock band, in 2006 and covered by English musicians Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse in 2007.
She followed that with Cole Porter’s classic ‘I Get a Kick Out of You,? first sung by Ethel Merman in the 1934 Broadway musical ‘Anything Goes.?
?’Anything Goes? is my favorite musical,? Spring said.
Facing Duda and Wilde in the final round, Spring concluded by performing ‘The House of the Rising Sun,? a song recorded and popularized by The Animals, an English rock group, in the 1960s.
‘One of my favorite American Idol finalists did that one. I liked it,? she said.
Spring started singing in elementary school. At Oxford Elementary, she was a member of the Super Singers under the direction of teacher Peggy Mueller.
‘I always looked up to people who sang really well,? Spring said. ‘I really wanted to be that person.?
She continued to hone her skills at the middle school under Choir Director Jan Flynn and now sings in high school as part of the choir group Vocal Expressions, under the direction of teacher Christopher Card.
‘Mr. Card is one of my biggest influences,? she said.
Folks may recall her performance as Dorothy in last year’s high school production of ‘The Wizard of Oz.? She plans to audition for the role of Mary Poppins, this year’s musical.
‘I do like to act and sing,? she said.
Her favorite Broadway performers are Bernadette Peters, Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara.
‘Those are my top three,? she said.