Karaoke competitors warming up at the Shore

Terrifying brain surgery a few months after Teena Handline’s wedding prevented her and her husband from going on a honeymoon in 2011. While recovering in the ICU from the surgery, Handline said there was one thing that kept her sane: music.

The 25-year-old Glen Mills resident will take the stage Saturday afternoon as one of the 29 finalists of the first Jersey Shore Karaoke Idol, a singing competition in which aspiring vocalists will compete for a top cash prize of $10,000 while raising money for the Jersey Shore Convention Visitors Bureau in Neptune.

“When you think about tourism in the Jersey Shore, you think about beaches. We’ve been trying to work on the fact that it is more than the Shore and the beaches. Music is year-round,” Bob Hilton, executive director of the bureau, said.

Hilton emphasized that, along with raising money, the competition had a goal of highlighting some of the state’s attractions, quirks, and festivals, and to prove that the Shore has much more to offer than sand and saltwater. With competitors from as far away as Montreal and Key West, Fla., Hilton said he was confident the event would do that.

“We’re planning to make a weekend out of it,” said finalist Rachel Olivo, a sophomore at Atlantic City High School. When she’s not competing, she said, she wants to explore nearby restaurants and Asbury Park.

Nearly 2,000 people auditioned at the start of the competition in June – some by visiting audition spots such as bars and restaurants along the Shore; others, who live father away, posted YouTube videos that were evaluated by the number of online votes they received, as well as by a panel of judges. Those auditioning in person had to face the judges, an anonymous panel composed of people in the music world, from studio owners to teachers.

“It’s a social-media-based kind of event,” Hilton said. He and his team used Facebook, radio, and word of mouth to stir up interest.

All the finalists will be present Saturday for the final competition at the Algonquin Arts Theater in Manasquan.

First prize is $10,000 and a four-day Dominican Republic vacation. Second prize is $4,000 cash and a $300 travel voucher. And third prize is $1,000 cash and a $200 travel voucher. All the cash prizes are donations from local organizations, and the travel prizes were donated by Travel Leaders of Neptune.

Saturday’s competition includes two rounds. The first, at 10 a.m., will be a closed performance where the judges will narrow down the pool of singers to the top 12, who will go on to perform before an audience at the Algonquin. Singers will be asked to prepare songs in four categories: top 40 hits, country music, Motown, and classic rock.

Handline, who graduated from Temple Law School in May and will take the Pennsylvania bar exam in February, said, if she wins, perhaps she will be able to go on the honeymoon she has been waiting three years for.

Other contestants also had big plans for the cash.

“I’d use the money to continue pursuing my acting goals,” said finalist Larry Coke, 42, an actor from Hammonton.

Many finalists, including Handline, Coke, and Olivio, come from choir or musical theater backgrounds, so performing karaoke offers a bit of a twist.

“It doesn’t have to be rehearsed,” said Olivo, 16, one of the youngest finalists. “You can just do what you want and have fun.”

As this year’s competition wraps up, Hilton said he was confident it would become an annual event. “We’re already planning for next year.”

Tickets to the events

can be purchased at http://jerseyshore

karaokeidol.com/.

All proceeds go to support the convention and visitors bureau.

gurciuoli@philly.com

856-779-3237