This year, a national competition was held to invite Mormon singers from anywhere in the U.S. to audition to sing the national anthem on Mormon Night at Dodger Stadium.
The two winners — Shea Owens, a vocal performance major at BYU, and JoDee Stott, a
mother from South Ogden, Utah — had the chance to sing at the Thursday, Aug. 6 game. Owens sang the national anthem before the game, and Stott sang "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch.All six finalists from the national contest appeared
at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, joining Elder M. Russell
Ballard, who was on hand to throw out the first pitch.Elder Ballard was a special guest of the Dodgers for the 15th annual Mormon
Night at the stadium. The LDS Church has been the largest group
client of the Dodgers for many years. As a result, the church is invited to
provide a performer for the national anthem and a representative for
the first pitch of the game.More than 500
singers, from British Columbia to New York, participated in the contest.The four other singers honored as finalists were: Jared Allen from Ogden, Utah; KaDee Smith from Athens,
Ga.; Heather Elmer from South Jordan, Utah; and Michelle Baer from
Mesa, Ariz.
Owens won $1,500, an audition with
Deseret Book's Shadow Mountain Records, tickets for his family and
friends to the game, and a video of his performance broadcast on
DodgerVision and TV. All finalists received cash awards and an audition with Shadow Mountain Records.