Author: Mike Bailey
Soulful R&B singer Stevia! took home the top prize at the inaugural HOI’s Got Talent competition this past weekend.
For her win, Stevia Hunes took home $5,000. Second place and $2,500 went to gospel singer Callie Day, while Sanson (Lonergan), a hula hoop performance artist, earned the third spot and $1,000.
“Really, they’re all winners,” said Kim Blickenstaff, the entrepreneur, and philanthropist who underwrote the event. “It takes a lot of guts to put yourself and your talent out there for others to judge. Kudos to all of them.”
Over three days of competition, the field was winnowed from an original 30 plus to 10, and then down to the final three. It was a diverse group. Though mostly singers of various genres, there were a couple of dancers and a magician/comedian in the mix, spread across a wide age range. In the end, only 10 points separated first through fifth places.
Stevia Hunes
Stevia! stole the show with her clear frontrunner performance, however, bringing a couple of judges to tears with her renditions of works by Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston.
Hunes was lauded for her high-energy, polished stage presence and immediate connection with the audience.
The legends Franklin and Houston would have approved, said judge Andre Allen, a Peoria City Council member.
“Thank you for shining so bright during some dark times that we’ve gone through,” he said. “I look forward to seeing where you go ... You need to get a stamp because you’re gonna be signing so many autographs.”
If Stevia! captured the judges’ hearts, Callie Day stirred their souls with her gospel tunes and vocal range.
“You are so comfortable on stage,” said Jenny Parkhurst, performing arts director for Blickenstaff’s KDB Group. “You’re my new favorite auntie. I want to come sit at your kitchen table ... You will listen to all the world’s problems and have all the answers.”
Hanson, meanwhile, won over judges with his “highly entertaining” dance/gymnastics routine, which included a flaming hulu hoop.
“That was an experience,” said Allen.
“It’s hard to take your eyes off what’s happening because you just want to see what’s going to happen next,” said Parkhurst.
In addition to the three prize winners, the final field came down to Victoria Allen, Helaina Kahlman, Yayo & Bros, Asia Neva, Tyler Lankston, Joel Shoemaker and Daniel Watkins.
Blickenstaff, a jazz drummer in his own right, has worked diligently to elevate the arts in central Illinois, from his development of the performing arts center in Peoria Heights that bears his mother’s name – the former Betty Jayne Brimmer – to his renovation of the Scottish Rite Theatre in Peoria, among other venues he has in the pipeline.
“This was the 72nd HOI Fair, and after a year off, I think this represented a strong comeback,” said Blickenstaff. “I’d like to think we can make HOI’s Got Talent an annual event, because there’s plenty more where that came from.”