Teens star in 'Idol' of their own Teens star in 'Idol' of their own (May 28, 2004)

Winner hopes to perform on hit national show

By Diana Reynolds Roome

Days before Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo duked it out for the title of "American Idol," Mountain View held its own singing contest, crowning J.J. Jones the first Teen Idol winner.

Fifteen contestants, high school and junior high students mostly from local schools, strutted their hearts and vocal cords in front of three judges and an audience of friends and fans at the YMCA last Friday. The evening began with an original song played to electric guitar by Evan Morrison, and ranged from grunge to pop, rock, jazz, R&B, and Broadway.

"The kids are so talented in a large range of music," said Lloyd Curns, school resource officer for Mountain View, who came up with the idea of staging an "American Idol"-style contest here and put up the prize money. He gave the first-place winner $200.

"We wanted something for students who are not into rock," said Curns, who admits being a fan of the popular television show, which is in its third season. "If they can win this, then it might be a confidence booster and encourage them to enter [the national show]."

As it turns out, Neville "J.J" Jones, who was selected as the first-place winner by the judges and was a clear fan favorite, is planning to try out when the show stages its next auditions in San Francisco. During the adjudication, the judges pointed out Jones' stage presence and his communicative style that got the audience bopping their heads within the first few beats of the R&B song he sang, Usher's "You Got It Bad."

"I just love performing, being in front of people, seeing how they'll react and if I can get them with me," said Jones, who developed his voice as well as his stage presence through years of practice in the New Sweet Home Gospel Choir in East Palo Alto.

A Mountain View High School senior, Jones hopes to pursue a career in music. "I wake up singing and go to sleep singing -- it gives me a joy that nothing else can," he said.

Gaby Holzwarth, a freshman at St. Francis High School, came in second with "The First Cut is the Deepest," sung in a voice that one judge described as "angelic." What made it especially distinctive was the surprising violin introduction that Holzwarth played with great accomplishment and beautiful tone.

In third place was Jenel Healy, whose powerful delivery of "Believe in Yourself" from "The Wiz" could plausibly take her all the way to Broadway. Healy had sung the song in a production of the musical by the Peninsula Youth Theatre, which she has been involved with for 10 years.

Jodi Disario, one of the judges and a teacher at Alta Vista High School, said she was very impressed with the winners. "I thought they each took risks and have a great future ahead of them in either the music or the theater industry."

Prizes will be presented to five top contestants. The winning performances will be repeated for KMVT Channel 16 in June, broadcast dates to be announced.

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