Local talent competition provides performance opportunities for youth
TOLEDO – Toledo’s Top Talent, an annual talent competition, expanded their contestant roster to allow Toledo youth as young as 8 years old to audition for the second annual talent show.
“The goal of the program is to keep kids and young adults involved during the summer and bridge the gap between the time school ends and when it starts up again,” said Sabina Rodriguez, Toledo’s Top Talent event coordinator and director of Mas Y Mas Guidance and Supportive Services.
During its first year, Toledo’s Top Talent accepted auditions from contestants ages 12-24, but after an abundance of audition requests from Toledo youth this year, the age range has officially been changed to 8-24.
Toledo’s Top Talent hosted the first, second and third rounds of the talent competition earlier this year, and provided vocal and instrumental coaching to all participants selected during the auditions.
Tickets for Toledo’s Top Talent finale show are $10 on the Mas Y Mas website and more information can be found on Toledo’s Top Talent Facebook page.
The finale show is at 6 p.m. on Sunday at the Peristyle Theater in the Toledo Museum of Art. The finale is a tribute to Selena Quintanilla, the late “Queen of Tejano Music.”
The final competition will be hosted by DJ Kane and features five finalists: Luis Gamez, Mariah McCarter, Meche Trejo, Oscar Tovar and Thalia Villagomez. These five contestants will compete for a grand prize of $2,000 and a signed contract to record an original single with Grammy award-winning producer Gilbert Velasquez in his San Antonio-based music studio, Velasquez Music, Inc.
The second and third place winners will be awarded cash prizes of $1,000 and $500 cash prizes, respectfully. All other competitors won’t go home empty-handed – they’ll receive $50 gift cards sponsored by the Taylor Automotive Family.
Having won more than a dozen Grammy’s/Latin Grammy’s for his contributions to the Tejano music industry, Velasquez said the grand prize recording contract is a stepping stone for the winner to obtain larger opportunities within the music industry.
“This will be a learning experience for the winner and, most of all, open up some doors for them,” he said.
Velasquez said he is looking forward to working with the grand prize winner and meeting all of the final contestants in-person at the finale show, where he will serve as a guest judge.
Mariah McCarter, 10, is the youngest contestant in Toledo’s Top Talent this year, following the change in age requirements, and she will perform at the finale show after three rounds of competition.
McCarter has been singing gospel music since she was 7 years old and said she is inspired to perform by her mother, Akisha McCarter, and her father, who passed away in 2021. Akisha described her daughter as having an old soul and said she is touched by old gospel songs.
“She has a ritual of touching her necklace that holds a picture of her dad before she goes on stage,” said Akisha.
While on stage, Mariah said she gets nervous but believes performing on stage will help her in her future.
“The competition helps me to get rid of my nerves on stage and gives me confidence,” she said.
Auditions for next year’s competition begin spring 2025.
Toledo’s Top Talent is partnering with the City of Toledo, Taylor Automotive Family, The House of Chaos and Mas Y Mas Guidance and Supportive Services.
