Talent Quest International Karaoke Contest,

About the event

Hello, my name is Allan MacDonald and along with my wife Denise Franklin we are the Owners of Talent Quest International Karaoke Contest. We are the oldest National Karaoke Singing Contest and the Number #1 Karaoke contest in the Nation. This contest was established in 2000 and had its first National Contest in 2001 at the then Ramada Express Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, in September. We have continued to keep the tradition and hold the contest in Laughlin, Nevada since 2001, which is now the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. The International Contest is held annually during the third week of September. I myself have been involved with Talent Quest National Karaoke Contest since 2003 coming in as a contestant for 3 years, then taking on the role of National host and MC for the last 7 years. My wife became involved in Talent Quest in 2005 and competed for 6 years taking several Top 5 honors including being named the 2011 National Champion in her category as well as the Overall Female Champion for that year. We bought the contest in 2013 and continue to hold this contest to the highest esteem of Honesty and Integrity as it is well known for.

 Although the terms “National Finals” and “National Level” are commonly used, in recent years the competition has attracted contestants from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. We have also had contestants from Russia and South Africa entered in this contest. Singers perform songs with Karaoke background music tracks and are judge by their vocal ability, stage performance and appearance. Talent Quest as an organization provides criteria, governance and sponsors the National Finals which are held each year in Laughlin, Nevada at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.

Karaoke in the United States has seen a major increase in popularity from the mid-1990’s onward. This has given rise to the participation of previously untapped talents among average people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to sing in public. Due to the ease of use and low production cost, many entertainment venues such as bars, nightclubs and restaurants host karaoke shows. Many singers that sing karaoke cannot afford to hire a band to sing and travel with and with the high quality reproductions of the music in the karaoke industry; they have the perfect band available to them. There are approximately 3 to 5 million Americans that sing karaoke on a regular basis. In many cases, long running karaoke venues develop a subculture of singers ranging from first timers to the hardcore competitive regulars. We at Talent Quest have tapped into these venues to allow their singers to compete and showcase their talent.

With the introduction of American Idol in 2002, karaoke and amateur singing has become more a part of the American culture landscape. American Idol has brought more exposure of karaoke and singing/performance to the American population at large, even though Simon Cowell (insert idiot here) berates karaoke singers, many of his contestants have a karaoke background. Many of our singers that come out to the National contest have auditioned or have appeared on American Idol, The Voice, America’s Got Talent and even Star Search back in the day. Additionally, films such as Duets (2000), When Harry Met Sally (1989), P.S I love You (2007) and many more have incorporated karaoke into their films.

Competitions such as Talent Quest International Karaoke Contest have benefited from this publicity and exposure. It is from the masses that have become exposed to karaoke and amateur singing that Talent Quest has its appeal. As more and more enthusiast take the hobby more serious, the competitive aspect of karaoke has come to encompass performance merit as well as vocal ability. Singers from all walks of life and ages use karaoke to perform and hone their skills, many using it to further their desires of stardom. 

It should be noted that the methodology of Talent Quest differs from other competitions such as American Idol or other competitions with a similar format. The Talent Quest format does not have a target age/social demographic, same for the categories that have been selected. This has the effect of making the competition accessible to those who may for some reason be ineligible to compete in a competition like American Idol or The Voice. Specific examples are: ineligibility due to age or musical genre and the like. Talent Quest unlike these other contests, does not care about the marketability of our contestants and winners or a sad story that required them to sing. Our contestants are your next door neighbors, the lady behind the counter at 7-11 or maybe even your mailman. Because of the way we have always run this contest, Talent Quest International Karaoke Contest has become family to many of the singers across the U.S and Canada. Many contestants come back year after year, whether they win or not, just to compete and sing with friends they have made over the years at Talent Quest.

Talent Quest provides both framework and rules for a series of singing competitions that are held in Bars, Festivals, State Fairs and Shopping Malls to name a few, which ultimately culminate in an annual event know as Talent Quest International Karaoke Contest. The progression of the competition starts at the local levels or Venues where contestants come to qualify in their areas in hopes of moving on to the next level in their region. If contestants are successful they will move on to the Regional Competition held in each State or Province. At this level, all winning contestants from other local level contests in their area, come together to try and win their way out to the National contest. Each State or Province holds their own Regional contest and in some of the more populous areas, they may have two Regional’s giving the contestants more opportunity to win their way to the Nationals. The current categories for competition are: Male Pop/Rock/R&B, Female Pop/Rock/R&B, Male Country, Female Country, Male Masters and Female Masters. Master’s Division is contingent on participants being 50 years of age and over. This contest is presently open to contestants 21 years of age and over.

Contestants that are successful at winning their categories at the Regional Level then move on to the International Championship Level. Winners of each category at their Regional Venue Level receive Airfare/Transportation, Hotel Accommodations for the week and Entry into the National Finals in Laughlin, Nevada.

The National Finals is a weeklong event. Contestants who qualified through the competition process check in on the Sunday before the contest to receive their packets and contestant numbers. The first two days comprise the first round of competition. All 3 Genre categories compete in the first two days. The next two days comprise the second round of competition, where all 3 genre categories compete again. Competition for these rounds begins at 10am and runs until 10pm every day. The Friday of the week is the Quarter Finals Round ( Top 20 in each category). Based upon prior scores during the week that are accumulated scores from both rounds, an elimination is performed resulting in the Top 20 in each category, yielding 120 contestants that will compete on this day. Saturday morning we cut down to the Top 10 in each category, Semi Finals and these contestants sing again.

Saturday Night is the National Championship Finals Round. Based upon prior scores that are accumulated during their first 4 rounds, an elimination is performed resulting in the Top 5 of each category for the International title in their category. The Top 5 in each category (30 singers), show up for a mandatory meeting the day of the finals so we can go over the show structure and to inform them on what to expect. Even though during the week the venue is in showroom condition, we set Saturday night up as a full major show production complete with MC’s and special guest. The Final show has been sold out over the past 5 years as guest from the Hotel and surrounding Hotels come to watch the show. Each category competes in their designated genre. Based upon scores from their previous 4 songs plus their Final song, the singer with the highest accumulative score in each category after the Final nights performance is crown the International Winner. The winners of each category win cash and prizes as well as 2^nd through 5^th place winners receiving cash and prizes of lesser value.

In all, Talent Quest International Karaoke Contests awards approximately $250,000 annually in prizes and cash to our contestants throughout the contest season and finals.

The judging panel during the week and the finals may consist of Celebrity judges, nationally acclaimed song writers, National Recording artists and music representatives from recording and radio companies across the United States.

Why should you sponsor?

Allan MacDonald

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