The Cobholm Tavern – 27th January 2008
Finally the competition season has kicked off here at Ultimate Karaoke and we kicked the season off in style. Ultimate Karaoke arrived at The Cobholm Tavern to be greeted by a large audience and lots of entrants. The atmosphere was building as everyone present was wanting to see who was going to be the first qualifiers through to the final of ‘The Tavern’s Talent Contest 2008’.
With 10 entrants waiting in the wings to kick of the competition, we did a public draw to see what positions everyone would be singing in. And then……………..into the competition we went.
After a brilliant entertaining session, the judges were having nightmare splitting the entrants from one another with the points being extremely close. However after the scores were checked and checked again, it revealed we had a winner, but two runners-up. From this we automatically put the three through. The runners-up were Chad (Kingston Town – UB40) & Becky (Your Still the One – Shania Twain) while Eileen wowed the judges with River Deep Mountain High (Tina Turner) which was enough to bag her top spoils on the day.
A top opening session at The Cobholm Tavern and long may it continue.
The Cobholm Tavern – 10th February 2008
Once again we headed off to the Cobholm Tavern with high hopes of another successful heat and once again we were not disappointed as the Cobholm Tavern once again produced the goods.
Another large crowd on hand and another 8 contestants all hoping to book their place in the final. It was nice to a few of last time’s contestants back for another go.
Once again, on the judges scorecards it was close and just like last time they were having trouble splitting the contestants. After much deliberation, the verdict was read. The runner-up went to Ken who did a brilliant version of Beautiful Noise from Neil Diamond while the winner’s spot this time went to Bob, who despite being under a heavy cold still put on a cracking performance of Robbie Williams’s ‘Ain’t that a kick in the head’ to take the top spot so well done to both of them.
One thing I must say is that all the contestants who took part did themselves proud and should be happy with their performances. Like I said before, the scorecards were very close and no-one should feel unhappy as they all did a marvellous job.
One point I never listed last time is who was in the draw for the third place wildcard entry into the final. With this, everyone who comes third is entered into a hat and a name will be drawn after the competition on 30th March. This person will be granted the final place in the competition. Last time’s entrant was Elaine, while this time it was Naomi who went into the hat. Should either of these two wish to enter again they can do so, to try and guarantee their place. Should they qualify in future heats, the next person will move up into third place and be entered into the hat. Seriously, the wildcard place could change on a weekly basis, so keep checking back to see who is in and who isn’t.
The line up so far
Heat 1 – Eileen, Chad & Becky
Heat 2 – Bob & Ken
Heat 3 - ?
Heat 4 - ?
Heat 5 - ?
Wildcard – Elaine, Naomi,
The Cobholm Tavern – 24th February 2008
Another week, another heat. The competition was held back until after the cup final between Chelsea and Spurs but this did give us time to build up a healthy entry of seven competitors which was brilliant considering we didn't have a single person booked in at the beginning of the afternoon after a couple of people pulled out at the last minute.
Once we did finally get underway, the pressure really started to mount on the competitors as the nerves started jangling. During this competition, the Cobholm Tavern has provided a real pressure cooker of an atmosphere which always makes for a cracking afternoon's entertainment.
After the seven competitors sung there songs, the judges added up there scores and took a while to decide who was the winner and the runner-up. Again another close week, which seems to be becoming the norm for this competition. Ray was judged to be the winner with his rendition of 'Johnney Remember Me' whilst Elaine qualified in the runners-up spot with her version of the Elvis Presley hit 'Suspicious Minds', so well done to both of them.
Now, at the start of the day, Elaine was in the hat for the third place play-off which will take place after the competition on 30th March. With Elaine qualifying, this meant that she had secured her place in the final thus taking her out of the third place play-off draw. The scorecards were rechecked from the first week (Elaine's heat where she qualified for the third place play-off originally) and it was revealed that Janice was the next person to move into Elaine's place. The third place person from Heat 3 was Benny singing Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline'.
Another fantastic heat with more twists than a Harry Potter novel which is proving great entertainment for the bumper crowd on hand.
Check out the qualifiers list below as things have obviously changed and don't miss the remaining two heats. Remember the 30th March is your final chance to qualify and will also host the 3rd Place Play-off draw. Keep checking the website for all the changes and also the final line-up.
Next heat - 2nd March 2008.
The line up so far
Heat 1 – Eileen, Chad & Becky
Heat 2 – Bob & Ken
Heat 3 – Ray & Elaine
Heat 4 - ?
Heat 5 - ?
Wildcard – Janice, Naomi, Benny
The Cobholm Tavern – 2nd March 2008
Heat 4 of the tavern Talent Contest took place at the Cobholm Tavern on 2nd March and although it was mother’s day it was still a pretty impressive turnout with everyone trying to get qualified before the last heat.
We had seven competitors book in though one did pull out when it came to his go which was a shame. Once again we had three judges scoring the proceedings these being Jacky (who has been a judge at every heat so far – we thank you for that), Gaby Starbuck (Pubstar’s Runner-up) and John.
A quick mention must go out to Mick who suffered disc trouble after using his own disc but credit must go to him for continuing on regardless and still pulling off a cracking performance.
As for the scorecards Mick did qualify in the runners-up place while Mark belted out Elvis’s ‘An American Trilogy’ to claim the top spot. Paul performed ‘The Gambler’ from Kenny Rogers to claim his place in the third place play-off draw, a league which is really making the nerves jangle.
Once again thank-you to every-one who took part in the competition and another fun afternoon was had by all.
We take a bit of a break now for a while until the 30th March when we have the final heat and the third place play-off draw too see who will take the final few place in the final on Sunday 6th April. It is going to be a cracker. Seriously, don’t miss it.
Keep checking back to see who has taken the final places, however the line-up so far is listed below.
The line up so far
Heat 1 – Eileen, Chad & Becky
Heat 2 – Bob & Ken
Heat 3 – Ray & Elaine
Heat 4 – Mark & Mick
Heat 5 - ?
Wildcard – Janice, Naomi, Benny, Paul
The Cobholm Tavern – 30th March 2008
The final qualifying round of the Tavern Talent Contest took place at The Cobholm Tavern, Great Yarmouth on 30th March with a cracking entry of nine people taking part, all going for the remaining places in the competition final.
Again another large variety of songs were chosen with the acts ranging their songs from The Pointer Sisters to Wet, Wet, Wet, with all artistes in between, which is one thing that this competition has produced.
The competition started and it was clear to see from the first couple of competitors that everyone was going to raise their game, for the final chance to make it through to the final as the standard was superb and this continued through all the competitors, giving us a fantastic competition.
As with other weeks, the judges were having a tough time deciding two to go through so quickly decided to put a third through and still put one in to the third place play-off hat. Kim, Nettles and Audrey were given the nod as the three qualifiers with Julie being put into the hat for the third place play-off draw.
Now as you know, the third place play-off draw consists of everyone who was in third place in each heat, or it’s corresponding place. One person would be drawn to go into the final as the final qualifier. At the beginning of the afternoon, a few changes were made to who was in the hat due to people not being available for the final should they be picked out of the hat. The final five ended up being: Doreen (replacing Janice), Naomi, Lana (replacing Benny), Paul & Julie. A random public draw found Julie to be chosen thus allowing her to take her place in the final. Well done to all the qualifiers.
The final is on Sunday 6th April 2008. Be there early to get a seat because it will be a fantastic afternoon of entertainment. Remember all acts will sing one song and then only 4 from the line up will go through to the second part of the final. See you Sunday. 4pm start.
The Final Line-Up
Heat 1 – Eileen, Chad & Becky
Heat 2 – Bob & Ken
Heat 3 – Ray & Elaine
Heat 4 – Mark & Mick
Heat 5 – Kim, Nettles & Audrey
Wildcard – Julie
Unfortunately no photo of the winners.
The Cobholm Tavern – 6th April 2008
Final day eventually arrived and for me it seemed a long week leading up to the final so I guess that it would have been the same for the contestants. The nerves were jangling as they always do on final day.
This final was being run slightly differently to other competitions with all acts singing tune in a bid to become one of the final six in the line-up for part two which is where the six qualifiers would then sing their second song.
A complete list of songs for the first round is listed below.
Eileen – I’m Every Woman – Whitney Houston
Lana – Sugar, Baby, Love – The Rubettes
Doreen – Out Of Time – Chris Farlow
Bob – Ain’t That A Kick In The Head – Robbie Williams
Ken – Do You Ever Have One Of Them Days – Elvis Presley
Ray – A Woman In Love – Franki Laine
Elaine – Bobby’s Girl – Marcie Blaine
Mark – American Trilogy – Elvis Presley
Mick – You’ve Got What It Takes - Showaddywaddy
Kim – Valerie – Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse
Nettles – Commitment – Leanne Rhimes
Audrey – Where The Boys Are – Connie Francis
Julie – Pearls A Singer – Elkie Brooks
There were some cracking performances in the first round with the entertainment section of the scorecards getting a real pounding as certain acts had the audience in stitches and the judges were having trouble seeing the scorecards. Special mentions must go to Lana & Julie who dressed up and really entertained. Also there were some cracking deliveries of songs which also helps the entertainment side of things.
The judges disappeared and it took 20 minutes for them to make a decision and they came back with seven. The final seven were: Eileen, Kim, Audrey, Mark, Lana, Nettles & Bob.
After a very short break, it was time to kick off part 2 and the list of songs is below:
Eileen – One Moment In Time – Whitney Houston
Kim – Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
Audrey – What I Had In Mind – Dolly Parton
Mark – If I Could Dream – Elvis Presley
Nettles – Son Of A Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
Lana – Lonely Girl – Eddie Holman
Bob – The Other Side – David Gray
The judges retired for one last time to make a decision on the top three and came back with Nettles as the winner, Eileen a close second and Audrey third.
That of course bought down the curtain on another competition for Ultimate Karaoke and another cracking one at that. Some brilliant singers and brilliant performers showed us what they were made of over the five heats and during the final. I would like to thank everybody for taking part, whether you were a qualifier or not and would also like to thank Jean for hosting the competition at The Cobholm Tavern, Great Yarmouth.
Keep you eyes peeled for another competition at The Tavern in Cobholm. Another great afternoon’s of entertainment.