Shana Nelson, the daughter of Marlene and Howard Nelson and a Logan High School Junior, was named West Virginia’s Teen Idol Saturday, May 10 in Macy’s Court at the Charleston Town Center Mall.
LOGAN, W.Va. — Shana Nelson, the daughter of Marlene and Howard Nelson and a Logan High School Junior, was named West Virginia’s Teen Idol Saturday, May 10 in Macy’s Court at the Charleston Town Center Mall.
There were five rounds of auditions that began in early April. Only 22 made it to the final round.
Each of the 20 semifinalists (two dropped out for personal reasons) performed two minute solos. For her performance, Nelson sang “Mercy” by Duffy.
Directly after, the judges narrowed the field to five finalists, who immediately performed again. For this round, Nelson performed “Someone Like You” by Adele.
“It’s my absolute favorite,” said Nelson. “I love Adele.”
Nelson was shocked when her name was called as the winner.
“It was really the best and worst situation I could have been in,” says Nelson. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I was standing there with one of my close friends, Seth Bunting [who was runner up and voted fan favorite], and we were holding hands. I just told him that I loved him. Next thing I know, they took him off the stage and it was only me standing there.”
Nelson will now have the “Ultimate Recording Experience” as an award for her success: a three-night trip for two to Nashville that includes 10 hours of studio time to record two songs with a professional backing band and a career consultation with a music producer…