Mustang Idol
Mustang Idol finalists vary as much as their vocal ranges do. Some are less than two months from graduation while others are just beginning their years here at SMU. They are from all over the country, Detroit to Miami. Even their majors are different, with not one majoring in music.
What all the finalists do have in common is their passion for singing. Look for them in the Mustang Idol final competition at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 6 in the Hughes-Trigg Theater. Tickets are on sale at the Mane Desk.
Click on a finalist’s name to find out more about them.
It wasn’t until Melissa Maresca’s freshman year of high school that she discovered her talent for singing. Her high school choir director asked her to pretend she was on stage in front of a packed room of people waiting to hear her sing. He told her to belt out a song so that he could hear her in the back row.
“I closed my eyes and opened my mouth and sang for the first time,” Maresca said. “Ever since then I haven’t stopped singing.”
Maresca entered solo competitions throughout high school, but college life has provided little opportunity for her to sing. She says Mustang Idol is a great opportunity to sing again.
She has a deep admiration for Julie Andrews and originally modeled her voice after her.
“I was one of those dorky kids who watched The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins over and over again until I learned every word to every song she sang,” Maresca said.
Maresca loves to paint. From the walls in her apartment to murals in houses and shops around town, she uses her art like her music to try and give back the talents that God gave her.
What makes Maresca unusual, she says, is the fact that such a big voice can come out of such a small person.
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Although most contestants entered because they wanted to, Stephanie Daniels felt pressure from outside forces.
“I’m doing Mustang Idol because my friends are forcing me to,” Daniels said.
She also said the only reason she sings is to bring glory to Jesus Christ. She believes that He gave her the gift, so she uses her talent to honor Him.
Her third grade performance is one that still remains with Daniels today. The ecology play starred Daniels as a “litter critter.” In front of 100 third graders, teachers and parents, Daniels made her debut. But there was one problem.
“As I crawled out of a tunnel, my costume didn’t,” Daniels said. “So, there I was standing in my undies.”
If Daniels wins the $1,000 prize, she will give some to the church, pay her credit card bill, and then treat herself to a shopping spree.
She hopes to support herself with a singing career possibly focused in full-time ministry in five years. She would like to be married and hopes to have ten children. Her dream is to someday spread the gospel through music with her husband and her children.
Daniels said she was a huge fan of the show “American Idol.” She would have liked to have Paula or Randy critique her singing as opposed to Simon.
“I can take honesty and criticism but not to the point where it’s gonna totally make me feel like a big dumb idiot,” Daniels said.
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Blake Minyard’s first performance came at the early age of two. His mother recorded him singing Madonna’s “Crazy for You.”
Minyard feels passionate about many vocal artists.
“I couldn’t care less what method one has learned in pursuit of classical training or even the logistics of it all … it all comes down to how you feel the music from within you, how it resonates deep inside oneself,” Minyard said. “That is what I will always hold true.”
Minyard chose a song for the audition that he felt spoke to him. The old jazz song, “Lush Life” by Billy Strayhorn, describes the pain of learning to accept a broken heart, even if it means being lonely.
He believes he is a unique person who looks for other people in his life that possess drive, warmth, and determination.
“It is that kind of person that restores my faith that there is real life on the planet,” Minyard said.
Despite Minyard’s disappointment about missing the American Idol auditions, he would love to have it out with Simon. If Simon were to criticize Minyard, he already knows his response.
“You get up here and you sing these damn notes exactly like I did,” said Minyard. “We’ll see just how sassy you are then, diva!”
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Cornelius Smith takes many things very seriously in life: God, family, education, career, love, friends, business and himself.
Smith entered Mustang Idol to challenge himself and improve his singing ability.
“I’m doing it for love, plus a brotha could use some money,” said Smith.
He describes himself as charming, passionate and soulful. This explains his admiration for singers who write and sing the truth from their hearts and touch souls.
He is already pursuing his own singing career in Detroit. Smith is working on a CD with his group Chapta II.
Smith believes people best remember him for the kind of person he is: his personality, demeanor, sense of humor and style.
“Of course, none of this would be possible without the constant watchful eye and hand of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” Smith said. “It is through him that all my blessings flow.”
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Passion and a humble heart are what Damian Birth feels really set him apart as a Mustang Idol finalist.
“It’s all or nothing,” Birth said. “My heart is in it or it isn’t, not part of it, but all of it.”
Birth began to explore his singing ability at a Baptist church where he found a comfortable atmosphere to develop his talent. Although he plans to pursue a career in the music industry, Birth says school is his main focus.
“Once I earn my degree, no one will ever be able to take that away from me,” Birth said.
With the exception of his family and a few friends, Birth’s talent has remained a secret. When he saw the flyer for Mustang Idol, he thought he would give it a shot. Birth finally found the right song to sing for the audition, and his anticipation grew as the date of the audition approached.
“I needed to go for it, all or nothing, and show the judges what I had to offer,” Birth said. “If they didn’t like me, so be it, nothing lost. If they liked what they heard and saw, who knows where it could possibly take me.”
Birth plans to put aside some of the cash prize as a graduation gift to himself. Being the second one in his extended family to graduate from college, Birth plans to celebrate his accomplishment ringing in the New Year in New York City.
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As long as Chelsea Chamése Silmon can remember, she’s been singing. She began singing in church as a little girl, which led to talent shows, award assemblies and weddings, singing as background vocalist for Karen Clark-Sheared and a variety of other things.
“Anytime I get the chance to share the gift God has given to me, I do,” Silmon said.
Silmon spotted the Mustang Idol flyer the night auditions were to begin. She hadn’t been on campus for about a week.
“I knew that it had to be God, so I tried out and look where I ended up,” Silmon said.
Whitney Houston is her favorite artist because she feels that Houston really shows her love for music and singing during her performances.
“The coordination of sounds in her music and the words she used spoke to me more than any other,” Silmon said. “Her voice carried so much meaning.”
One of Silmon’s most embarrassing moments came at church. She was walking back into the service from the restroom with her dress tucked into her underwear.
“You and everybody else could see all my goodies!” Silmon said.
In five years, she believes she will be where God wants her to be. She would like to pursue a career in singing if God provides the necessary components.
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Describing herself as passionate, tenacious and loyal, Laura Schutt is convinced that performing is her life’s work.
“I’m approaching this competition as another opportunity to do something I love,” Schutt said. “It is going to be me on that stage, doing what I feel I was born to do.”
Her love for singing began at age 12 when she was cast in a production of “Annie Get Your Gun.”
She has never stopped singing, but Schutt, like others, has never had any formal vocal training.
Schutt feels $1,000 is too much money to let pass by, but she attributes her reason for competing to satisfying the performer’s appetite in her.
Although Schutt was in rehearsals for most of “American Idol’s” season, she did manage to catch a few episodes.
Simon would be her choice of judge because he would tell her exactly how he felt about her performance.
“Your purpose as an artist is to move others, so how could you do that without their input?” Shutt said.
After graduation, she hopes to live as a starving actress in her hometown of Toronto.
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Schuyler Mastain, known as Scooter by most students, began his musical career in adolescence with small roles in school musicals.
Now Mastain shows his love for music in his singing, playing the guitar and making up nonsense songs about anything.
He was reluctant to audition for “Mustang Idol” because he wasn’t sure he could fully devote himself to another activity. However, with the encouragement of a Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brother, Mastain realized he could find time.
“Besides, I love singing and I thought this would be a great way to expose and represent myself and the organizations I am a part of,” Mastain said.
Mastain’s list of things he would do with the cash prize is broad.
He has considered buying musical equipment to help him get more serious about songwriting and playing the guitar.
“I might throw one hell of a party,” Mastain added.
Similar to his uses for the prize money, the singers he admires are numerous. He listens to music that really sends a message.
“Song is a way of explaining your thoughts and the world around you,” Mastain said. “I particularly look for an artist who stands for something that they believe in for the benefit of themselves and the culture around them.”
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Despite never receiving vocal training, Stillman has a voice that made him a “Mustang Idol” finalist. Since the young age of 9 years old when he was asked to sing “We Shall Overcome” in front of four classes, Stillman has never ceased singing.
He describes himself as “tenacious, spirit-filled and steadfast.” No matter what comes his way, Stillman is determined to make it.
“Many people tend to break under pressure and try to contain it and end up living a really bitter life; but in the face of adversity, I can stand tall and call on the name of the Lord, who is my strength,” he said.
He admires gospel singer Daryl Coley who he believes is the “absolute best singer of all time” because of his vocal range.
Thinking of what he would do with the prize money took little time for Stillman. He would first pay tithes to the church, finish paying off his tuition, place some in savings, and send some home to his family.
In five years, look for Stillman to be in graduate school or singing his heart out on Broadway.
“I would like to drop an album as well,” Stillman said. “Maybe after some singing lessons – I want to be legit!”
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Before Jaquai Wade was chosen as a finalist for “Mustang Idol,” many of her peers had no idea of her singing ability.
Wade has never sung in a competition before, but she hopes to be in the entertainment industry in five years. Although she would like to record an album someday, she would not do it solely for the sales.
“I would do it just to prove that I can and know that I have reached every possible goal in my life,” Wade said.
The cash prize of Idol does interest Wade, nevertheless. She’s considering a trip to Jamaica.
Wade admires Stevie Wonder for his unique voice and songwriting ability. Singer Erykah Badu is also on Wade’s list of talented artists.
“She is dynamic,” Wade said. “She is not afraid of being who she is and standing out.”
Standing out is a trait that Wade can claim, too, with her humorous personality and big hair.
Wade wasn’t an avid “American Idol” fan like many students this summer. She did watch the first episode but wasn’t waiting by the television every week to see the show.
She would choose Randy to critique her singing.
“He knows how to be honest without being rude,” Wade said.
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Story by Farrar Johnson
Illustration by Stephanie Caballero
Photos by Jeremy Roebuck, Trent Moran and Kris Norvet
Web design by Jessica Alexandre
Mustang Idol
