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Pigeon
Forge, TN – June 2019 / Newsmaker Alert / Frankfort, Kentucky,
resident Grayson Thurman won the 2019
Pigeon Forge Path To Fame talent competition grand championship on
Saturday, June 22. Thurman competed against 13 other performers at the
Smoky Mountain Opry theater.
Thurman, 18, was one of four
semi-finalists selected from 34 Path To Fame contestants at the Lyric Theatre
in Lexington on March 30. He performed “Honesty” to earn his semi-finalist
spot.
Joining Thurman in the top
four performance slots were Kassey King, 20, from Kokomo, Indiana; Emma
Lovett, 23, from Alabaster, Alabama; and Gabriel Winn, 17, from Tipton,
Indiana.
During the final competition,
Thurman once again performed “Honesty,” a song made popular by Billy Joel.
The performance garnered the judges’ attention, and Thurman returned to
the stage to sing “How Many Kings.”
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Thurman began singing four
years ago in school and church. He performed the national anthem for the
2019 state basketball tournament and has sung at the Cathedral of St. John
the Divine in New York City. He is a three-time (2016-18) participant in
Belmont University’s vocal camp and has attended the GRAMMY/National Academy
of Recording Arts and Sciences Music Camp, both in Nashville. His musical
influences range from the Beatles and Glen Campbell to Aerosmith and Johnny
Cash.
Thurman is a recent graduate
of Franklin County High School in Frankfort, Kentucky. He will attend Belmont
University this fall where he plans to major in commercial music.
Thurman immediately captured
the attention of Nashville talent executive and Path To Fame professional
mentor John Alexander, co-founder and CEO of BandTwango. “Grayson wowed
us in Lexington with a spectacular version of the song ‘Honesty’, and he
stepped up at the finals with a rendition that was even more powerful than
before,” Alexander said. “I look forward to working with Grayson over the
next year to help him realize his dreams and grow as a performer.” Alexander
discovered country stars Kelsea Ballerini and Patty Loveless, among others.
As the Pigeon Forge Path
To Fame talent competition grand champion, Thurman wins a year of monthly
consultations with Alexander as well as a career consultation with country
artist Carly Pearce. Professional photography and videography sessions,
media training and introductions to other entertainment industry executives
complete the grand prize package which includes tools to help Thurman advance
his career.
“The performers represented
in the Pigeon Forge Path To Fame championship are representative of the
great talent we saw in Birmingham, Lexington and Indianapolis this year,”
said Pigeon Forge Department of
Tourism Executive Director Leon Downey. “We’re eager to see where each
performer’s path to fame takes them but, hopefully, back to Pigeon Forge.”
Home to a variety of musical
productions and dinner shows, Pigeon Forge’s theatre community has helped
launch the careers of Pearce, who performed at Dollywood theme park and
Country Tonite theater, American Idol alum Janelle Arthur, singer/songwriter/actress
Diana DeGarmo, Grand Ole Opry member Craig Morgan and soap star Eric Martsolf.
More information about the
Pigeon Forge Path To Fame talent competition is available at PFFame.com.
About Pigeon Forge
Pigeon
Forge is located in East Tennessee, approximately 35 miles from Knoxville
and McGhee-Tyson Airport. Two-thirds
of the nation’s population east of the Mississippi River lives within a
day’s drive, making it an easily accessible family vacation destination.
The city’s neighbor is Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most-visited
national park in the U.S. It also is home to Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme
park, Tennessee’s most-visited ticketed attraction. More information about
all aspects of Pigeon Forge are available at MyPigeonForge.com
or toll-free at 800-251-9100.
Media Contacts:
Media Contact:
Trish
McGee
615-327-1189
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