Published: July 10, 2008 10:43 pm         

Rockville teen named Wabash Valley Idol

TERRE HAUTE — The next American Idol could be Amanda Riffe of Rockville, who was named the first Wabash Valley Idol at the Vigo County Fair on Wednesday.

“I was nervous,” Riffe said. “I was going to be happy anyway because it was a good experience.”

More than 1,000 people turned out for the first Wabash Valley Idol contest sponsored by B102.7 FM, a Crossroads Communications station.

To become the winner, Riffe, 17, first had to audition last month for three judges for a “golden ticket.” The golden ticket was a pass for her audition to be posted on B102.7’s Web site so that people could vote online until June 30 for the top 10 performers of the 35 that were posted.

The top 10 performed at the fair Wednesday and the judges narrowed it down to the best three contestants, who then each performed another song. After the three performances, audience members voted on a ScanTron for their favorite.

Nerves were a factor a little bit at the competition, she said, “but when I got on stage it was really fun with a lot of energy from the audience.”

Riffe received $500 and an all-expenses paid trip to the Louisville audition site of “American Idol” on July 21. She sang “Anyway” by Martina McBride for her first song and “Born to Fly” by Sara Evans for her second song.

“Anyway” was the same song Riffe performed for her audition piece to land her a spot on the station’s Web site.

Her voice coach accompanied her to the first audition in the Hilton Garden Inn, but Riffe said she’s not sure if she’s going to go to Louisville. Riffe has been taking singing lessons for about 10 years now, she said.

She said she hasn’t decided what song she’s going to sing for Simon, Paula and Randy, but it could be “Anyway.” She said she’s already nervous.

“I was really nervous in front of the three local judges,” Riffe said, “so I can only imagine what it’s going to be like [in Louisville].”

“It went really well,” said Doug Edge, general manager of Crossroads Communications. “The crowd was really into it. They stayed throughout the whole performance.”

The contest started at 7 p.m. and didn’t wrap up until about 10, he said.

Volunteers from Ivy Tech Community College tabulated the votes to determine the winner.

Edge said with such a great turnout for the performance and the large participation for the contest, it could become an annual event — as long as “American Idol” airs.

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.