Three advance in ‘Idol’ show Caribou site to host singing contest to benefit United Way

FORT KENT – Two young women and a young man were selected by the audience Friday to represent the St. John Valley in the United Way’s Aroostook Idol competition at the Caribou Performing Arts Center in March.

Adam Ouellette of Frenchville, Samantha Boutot and Lindsey Stanley, both of Fort Kent, were selected by the sold- out audience of some 450 people.

They will join three regional winners each from Houlton and Caribou Aroostook Idol competitions in late March at the Caribou Performing Arts Center for competition’s countywide finale. This is the second year of the United Way fundraising project.

Twelve women and Ouellette performed Friday night in the Fox Auditorium at the University of Maine at Fort Kent. The performances were lively and entertaining, receiving loud acceptance from the audience.

A panel of four judges, who did not get to vote on the winners, also kept the audience entertained with comedic interplay among themselves between the singing acts. They also judged each performer, offering tips for future engagements.

Ouellette, a clear favorite of the judges and the audience, was told he was a “show stopper” and the best singer in the competition. He was told he had a “great voice, great stage presence,” and “I will see you on American Idol some day,” the judges said.

He was the last performer of the evening, singing “Let Her Cry” by Hootie and the Blowfish. This was his second performance in Aroostook Idol, also singing last year. He finished as the first runner-up at last year’s competition.

The 17-year-old first sang when he was 3 at a local talent show in Frenchville. Last summer, he auditioned at the American Idol competition in Boston.

He is a senior at Wisdom High School in St. Agatha. He is a certified personal support specialist for the Aroostook Agency on Aging.

Boutot, a 20-year-old sophomore at UMFK, performed Blondie’s “Call Me.” Judges told her she had “good stage presence, confident and had a good singing range.”

She also started singing at age 4. She has performed at many local events in Fort Kent.

At 14, Stanley was one of the younger singers in the competition. She performed “Jesus Take the Wheel,” a song made popular by American Idol winner Carrie Underwood.

She said she has been singing since she could walk. She said she has always been shy – afraid to sing in front of audiences – and decided to try. She’s an eighth-grade pupil at Fort Kent Elementary School.

The singers Friday night performed many songs from today’s pop world, and many performed country and western numbers.

Other entertainment Friday night included a Center Stage Dance Studio contingent, who danced twice at the beginning and near the end of the show, and Kim Parent of Fort Kent and Caribou’s Molly Bouchard sang several songs but not in the show’s competitive portion.