SANDY, Utah — Brett
Winn's musical style of "Latin fusion" won him plenty of swoons and
applause from concert goers at the Mormon Times Summer Showcase
performance Thursday, Aug. 27. His unique and varied sound also won him
$5,000.
__IMAGE1__Winn, 35, came in first place in the online music contest which
began in May. People could watch and listen to original songs submitted
by Mormon artists at music.mormontimes.com, then vote for their
favorites. Six finalists were selected to perform at the concert, where
the top three winners were announced.
"It was amazingly intense," said Winn of his competition. "They were all amazing."
Winn's original song, "The Only One" was the favorite out of about 50
submissions. The San Diego native had his brother and a volunteer from
the audience Latin dance on stage as he sang the song which he said is
sometimes interpreted as narcissistic.
"(It's about) someone who just doesn't get it," he said before the
music was cued. "They don't get how important you are to them, and this
song basically just informs them of it."
Winn said the single is available for purchase at www.ltdrecords.com.
He said he plans to put some of his prize money toward his music career
and a portion of it will go to help a nephew in need of an operation.
The second place prize of $2,000 went to Nathan Osmond, whose
cousin Brandon won the first Showcase contest in March. Osmond, who
grew up performing in the Osmonds Second Generation, recently released
his first solo country album, "Feels Like Heaven," which is available
"It was fun," said Osmond after the concert. "I had so much support from my family."
He also has support from hundreds of fans, some of whom he left the
stage to serenade as he sang his original song "I believe in Love."
The third place winner, Abby Pauslen, a BYU-Idaho student, took home
$1,000 and had the loudest cheering section out of the group. She sang
her original pop music with the help of her cousins on bass, guitar
and drums as she accompanied on the piano.
"I just want to say 'Thank you.' Thank you to all who voted," she said after she was announced a winner.
The three other finalists were Cameron Nichols, Rachel Sonderegger and
Jesse Lacko. Two guest artists, Ryan Innes, who was a finalist in the
first Showcase concert, and Anna Kaelin, who was a contestant on season
8 of American Idol, also performed.
E-mail: mfarmer@desnews.com