The final three Wellesley Idol singers have been chosen ahead of the Apple Butter and Cheese Festival on September 30.
A packed crowd was in attendance to watch the top seven finalists compete in the Idol competition following the opening ceremony at the 164th Wellesley-North Easthope Fall Fair.
After much deliberation by judges – Saibal Chakraburtty, Allister Bradley, Tim Louis and J.P. Sunga –Christian Economides, Taylor Kelly and Anastasia Bilodeau were chosen to move forward.
“This breaks my heart to some extent because I would like to name all seven people to go onto the Apple Butter and Cheese Festival,” said Bradley. “Congratulations to all of you.”
Louis said one of the things the judges really enjoyed doing ahead of the performances Tuesday evening was mentoring sessions with the contestants this year. Each had the opportunity to do a 30-minute session with the judges.
“It is amazing to see from the beginning – the 20 down to the seven and finally down to the three – to see the improvement and the growth in such a short period of time. They are such great artists and they are always learning to take it in and just grow right away, so it is fantastic to see that growth,” said Louis. “The only hard part about our jobs up here is that it is a competition and we do have to pick some things.”
Although they ultimately had to make a choice, Bradley spoke to the calibre of talent that performed in Wellesley that evening.
“All of them deserved to be on the stage tonight, they all sang their hearts out and we loved watching it happen,” said Bradley.
The finalists all had a unique style that set them apart from their fellow competitors, with Economides, performing an acoustic version of Fix You by Coldplay, Kelly performing Roll the Bones by Shakey Graves accompanied by a guitarist, and Bilodeau, performing Almost is Never Enough by Ariana Grande.
The top three finalists compete at the Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival at month’s end, with the first-place winner receiving a $500 prize, second place $300, third place $200 and finally a People’s Choice winner – who was voted on Tuesday evening – will take home $125.
