Wannabe Wicked facts for kids
Wannabe Wicked was a special talent contest for fans of the famous musical Wicked. Imagine getting to perform songs from your favorite show! In this competition, people showed off their singing and performing skills. Judges, who were experts from the entertainment world, watched closely.
To do well, contestants needed to have a great singing voice, perform with energy, sing the notes perfectly, and put on an amazing show overall. The super cool prize for the winner was a "walk-on role" in the actual Wicked musical! This meant they got to appear on stage for a moment, experiencing what it's like to be part of the show.
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How Wannabe Wicked Started
The idea for Wannabe Wicked first came to life in Great Britain. Fans who loved the musical could send in videos of themselves singing a part of a Wicked song. From all those videos, a few lucky people were chosen to move on to the next rounds.
The very first winner of the Wannabe Wicked contest in Great Britain was Louise Henderson. She won that amazing walk-on role. Louise got to see what a day in the life of a Wicked performer was really like!
If you want to know more about the British version of this competition, you can check out their old website: Wannabe Wicked UK.
Wannabe Wicked Comes to North America
The Wannabe Wicked contest traveled across the ocean and arrived in Los Angeles, California, in the summer of 2008. This version had three main parts for contestants to get through.
First, there was the video audition, just like in Britain. Then, the chosen contestants performed live in the semi-finals at CityWalk, a fun entertainment area at Universal Studios Hollywood. Finally, the grand finals were also held live at CityWalk. All these events were part of the "Wicked Wednesday" summer series at Universal Studios. You can learn more about the park here: Universal Studios Hollywood.
The Competition Rounds
Contestants who were picked from their video auditions found out when they would perform live in the semi-finals. Top professionals from the entertainment industry judged both the semi-final and final performances.
There were five days of semi-final competitions, with ten contestants performing each day. At the end of each semi-final round, three contestants were chosen to move on to the final round. The big final show happened on August 20, 2008.
A total of fifteen contestants performed in the finals, and the talent was incredible! Before the finals, there was another special contest online called "Fan Favorite." People could watch videos of all the finalists' semi-final performances and vote for their favorite performer.
Amazing Final Performances
Even though the online videos were great, the live finals showed an even more prepared and talented group of performers. Everyone performed even better than they had in the semi-finals! Each contestant brought their own unique personality to their songs. They performed in front of a huge crowd, truly showing off what they could do.
One contestant, Kingsley Malang, was special. The host of the event pointed out that he was the only male contestant to sing a song originally written for a female character. He did an amazing job! His performance even included the actual stage movements, called blocking, that the character Elphaba does in the real Wicked production.
Local news media were also there, filming all the performances. They were excited to capture the moment the winner was chosen. NBC was one of the big media companies covering the event.
The Fan Favorite Winner
Besides the main winner who got the walk-on role, there was also a "Fan Favorite" winner. This was decided by online votes. People visited a website that showed the semi-final performances of all fifteen finalists and voted for who they liked best.
On August 20, 2008, both the Fan Favorite and the main winner were announced. Dawn Borroso was the lucky winner of the Fan Favorite award!
Songs Performed by Contestants
The contestants had a choice of singing parts from these popular songs from the Wicked musical:
- Popular
- Defying Gravity
- The Wizard and I
- Dancing Through Life
- For Good
The table below shows some of the contestants and the songs they performed:
| Contestant | Song Performed |
|---|---|
| Cameron Ernst | Dancing Through Life |
| David Wilson | Defying Gravity |
| Chelsea Emma Franko | The Wizard and I |
| Christine Capsuto | Popular |
| Connie Zamora | For Good |
| Kingsley Malang | The Wizard and I |
| Tiffany Nutter | The Wizard and I |
| Paul Zappia | Dancing Through Life |
| Daniella Painton | The Wizard and I |
| Dawn Barroso | Defying Gravity |
| Emily Yates | The Wizard and I |
| Holly Jones | For Good |
| Lisa Sadowski | Defying Gravity |
| Lorelei Conover | For Good |
| Nura Creitz | The Wizard and I |
The Grand Winner
Even with so much amazing talent on display, only one winner could be chosen for the walk-on role. A group of five judges, all experts in the industry, had a very tough time making their decision during the finals.
Finally, the crowd waited in suspense as the winner was announced. The big winner was Connie Zamora! She not only won a walk-on role in the Los Angeles production of Wicked at the Pantages Theater, but she also won several tickets. This meant she could bring her friends or family to watch her special performance on stage! The local news media was ready to capture her excitement right after the results were announced.
You can find more details about the finalists of the LA contest here: Wannabe Wicked LA
