Jonathan’s Performance at the Ky Opry Finals!

Hey Friends!

I’ve been dying to tell you about Jonathan’s performance at the Ky Opry Finals this past weekend, but I’ve been waiting for the videos to be uploaded on youtube.

Again, we had the most wonderful weekend down in Draffenville, Ky!

We went down on Friday night and stayed on the lake.  The boys absolutely loved getting the chance to fish on the lake.

pier one 201

 

Our wonderful new friends, the McKees, let us stay at their lake house and took us on a boat ride on Saturday.  We are so thankful for this precious family that we now call our friends.  Just another blessing of Jonathan participating in the Ky Opry Talent Search!

pier one 213

That night, at the Finals, there were 15 contestants, three from each division: beginners, juniors, adults, senior adults, and instrumental.

Jonathan won the beginner’s division and made it to the top five finalists!!!

photo(3)

Can you believe that the battery on my camera went dead?!  Major blogger fail.  Smile

I had to take these pictures on my phone.  Sorry for the bad quality.

And….We were super proud that Jonathan won the “People’s Choice Award”!!! 

That means he had the most audience votes!

jhutch

 

He got runner-up overall with the second highest amount of judges votes, and the overall winner was Drew Baldridge.  Drew is an amazing young singer/songwriter out of Nashville, TN.  He was such a great guy and so encouraging to Jonathan.  Click HERE to view one of Drew’s performances.

Here is a picture of the “brothers” with Jonathan.  They were so proud of them.

 

photo(4)

 

We were so excited that my mother, father, and sister-in-law could be there to see Jonathan perform!  They drove all the way up from Georgia to support Jonathan.  They are some of his biggest fans!  (My mother and father-in-law are both great singers, and I think that is where Jonathan inherited his talent.)

Each contestant had to sing two songs for the Finals, one fast and one slow.

They could sing a new song or a song that they sang in a previous week.  For his slow song, Jonathans sang, “Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts.  For his fast song, he sang “Sold” by John Michael Montgomery (a Ky boy!)

Here are both of his videos.  (You may need to click over to my blog to view the videos if you are reading this post through a reader.)

 

 

 

This competition has been such a great learning experience for him.  His confidence and stage presence has improved each week with each performance.  I think he did an amazing job for his very first Talent Competition.  Smile

 

 

Thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement for Jonathan! 

It has been so much fun to share this experience with you! 

You made it so much more fun. Smile

 

And thank you to all the wonderful people at the Ky Opry!  We will always hold a special place in our heart of you!

42 Comments

  1. Congratulations to Jonathan! What an exciting adventure for all of you. I love that the ultimate prize for Jonathan is to have such a fantastic cheering section and loving family. :)

  2. Congratulations to your boy!! I have always loved that JMM song. Jonathan is so talented and has such an amazing voice for a boy so young, or for anyone for that matter. The kid is gonna have a total killer voice when he’s older.

  3. Once again, just so beautiful Traci. You’re raising an amazing young man. Watch out – that smile and charm of his is going to drive the young girls crazy – you’ll be chasing them away very soon!! XO

  4. Traci….precious! So proud of Jonathan! I’ve told you before that I teach children’s choirs, and
    we just finished our end of year musical, so I am sensitive to seeing kids on stage! Jonathan is stars above any other 12 year olds we have….and yes, his stage presence is great! It will be fun to watch him as his voice matures!

  5. Congratulations to Jonathan and to all of you!! We knew he would do well!
    I love the picture with the four boys together.

  6. I’ve never commented before, but just had to say that your son (whole family) is adorable. I’m a mom to 2 boys and and bunch of boys just makes me smile! Thanks for sharing your precious son’s talent with us. I love it and your blog.

  7. Well for some reason the sound isn’t working on my computer right now. But better then the sound I can see how relaxed and at ease he looks. What a champ. I listen to it when I check things out. Great Job.

  8. I don’t know where to begin… I have been on your site for an hour because I coulldnt get enough listening to Johathan’s voice. He makes chills go up my arms and heart. To think he has a hearing problem, you wouldn’t believe it to hear him sing…Traci I hope you wore a top without buttons because I can see them popping off with pride. I love your blog but it is even more special when you share your sons’ voice. Keep them coming!!

  9. Job well done, Jonathan!! Congratulations on your awards and on those wonderful performances!! Linda S. in NE

  10. YIPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I have been WAITING FOR THIS NEWS!!!!!

    JONATHAN – I am sooo proud of you. Congratulations on your awards!! Great videos. Thanks Traci for sharing them.

    Can you hear me jumping up and down here in Tennessee???!!!!!

    My oh my, I bet someone named Gary, Joe Don and Jay will be might proud and thrilled to see this video!!!! I sure hope they see it. :)

    Marilyn C.

  11. I’m usually not a big fan of country music. However Johnathan rocks!!! I would be very happy to listen to him sing anytime. What a talent!

  12. I just love watching Jonathon sing! Being a momma to boys…it just makes my heart melt! I bet you just wanna squeeze him to pieces after each performance! Congratulations on a wonderful accomplishment! I can definitely see his confidence growing from the previous videos! Before you know it he’ll be the next American Idol! :) Great job Jonathon!

  13. Tracy,
    God has blessed your precious son with an incredible talent. He is a natural with the audience! I know how proud you must be of him in so very many ways . God bless you Jonathan!

    Tricia Hicks

  14. He is so talented! I shared his performance with my fam and they were all just as amazed as I was:) Not to mention he is singing one of our favorite song- thanks for sharing!

  15. Congratulations Jonathan!! So happy for you! Love the way you worked the stage and looked so natural up there. I wish I had the courage to stand up in front of a crowd. Nicely done!

    Traci, what great encouraging parents you and Cy are. It’s inspiring. Thanks so much for sharing with us.

  16. WAY TO GO, Jonathan! I’m so proud of him–and so proud for you and Cy! How cool that Cy’s folks were able to drive up from GA for the competition. Honestly, though, don’t you think Jonathan got some of his musical talent from his mama, too?

    I’m so happy for all of you. What a wonderful opportunity. And if you could pick any award, wouldn’t you want the People’s Choice award? So great!

  17. Wow! Just a little note to Jonathan…have you ever considered a tryout to America`s Got Talent? Because you surely do. I really like the way you entertain the audience with good eye contact, smile, your movements & hand jesters on top of your great voice. You make me want to hear more. Very nicely done.

  18. Thank you so much for sharing the videos with us. I am surely a fan! Good job, Jonathon. You are using the gift that God gave you to make the world a more beautiful place.

  19. My “biggest” congratulations to Jonathan. He is a super-talented young man, and just appears to be a super-sweetie pie, too. Congratulations to all of you for this awesome experience and how wonderful you are sharing it with us.
    ~CAS~

  20. Congratulations Jonathon!! Wow, Traci, what a PROUD momma you must be :) What an amazing gift God has blessed your son with & what a blessing he is (as well as ALL your boys) are to your family. Blessings!!

  21. Traci – you have raised an amazing young man. One who has chosen to use his God-given gift to spread the joy of His amazing love to others. Jonathon has an incredible voice. I know what it’s like to be up there on stage performing in front of a lot of people, and I can tell you, it’s a knee-knocking experience. Jonathon looked so right at home up there. I could tell he was in his element! I felt so blessed today to hear his sweet voice. I pray that he continues to use it. I have a feeling that he’s going to go far!! God bless you, Jonathon! You rock! :)

    xoxo laurie

  22. Way to go Jonathan!!! Another job well done. Looking forward to more performances….and hoping to be in the audience next time:)

  23. Oh my Traci he is so sweet! I want to meet your boys and just see your reflection in their eyes. You have a beautiful family what a blessed woman you are!

  24. Hello from Greece!
    the video of your son singing brought tiers to my eyes, he is a amazing singer :)

  25. That is amazing!! Jonathan did an awesome job with his singing. I admire him very much for not letting his hearing loss stop him!! I am hearing impaired also. I don’t sing well, but I do play the piano and am a substitute church organist. People often wonder how can I play an instrument when I am hearing impaired. I am sure you understand that.

    ~Linnea

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *