Northern Star ‘newcomers’
wow Presque Isle audience
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Two teams — each consisting of two talented singers from central Aroostook County — will be part of the Feb. 23 Northern Star finale in Caribou.
Staff photos/Scott Mitchell Johnson
FIFTEEN SINGERS performed Saturday night in the central Aroostook Northern Star competition. Now in its 10th year, the singing contest is a fundraiser for the United Way of Aroostook. Pictured are, from left, front row: Nicole Adams of Fort Fairfield, Malari Page, Justin Quinones, Jamilynn Deschene and Jay Nelson, all of Caribou. Middle row: Michael Ouellette of Westfield, Todd Corey, Josh Doughty, Raeann Michaud and John Thomas Buckley, all of Presque Isle. Back row: Allyson Plummer of Washburn, Robin McLellan and Kent McLellan, both of Mapleton; Denise Michaud and Megan Ouellette, both of Van Buren.
ANNIE CHARLES of Limestone, who was crowned the 2007 Aroostook Idol winner, served as one of the judges of Saturday night’s Northern Star competition in Presque Isle. She also performed during the show. 
In previous years, the singing competition, which serves as a fundraiser for the United Way of Aroostook, has seen the top two audience vote-getters, combined with a judges’ wild-card pick, moving on to the finale. This year, however, organizers added a new twist to the competition, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
At each of the three regional shows, held in Fort Kent, Presque Isle and Houlton, the audience chose its top two finalists. Then, the winner of a coin toss got to select which of two regional judges they wished to work with in preparation for the upcoming finale.
Each judge then paired the audience selections with a pick of their own. The contestant pairs will work with their judge to prepare and sing one song together at the finale, at which time the audience will vote for the contestant in each pair they felt was the strongest. The audience picks will then compete solo in the final round for the title of 2014 Northern Star.
At Saturday night’s Presque Isle show, the audience selected Jay Nelson and Justin Quinones, both of Caribou, as their favorites. Ironically, this was the first time either of them has competed in the Northern Star contest. Quinones selected judge Dan Ladner to serve as his “coach,” while Nelson will be working with Melbourne Smith.
Ladner then chose Jamilynn Deschene of Caribou to be part of “Team Dan,” while Smith handpicked Megan Ouellette of Van Buren to be the other half of “Team Mel.”
Nelson moved the crowd with his rendition of “Bring Him Home” by Colm Wilkinson and Hugh Jackman from the musical, “Les Miserables.”
“Jay you are a natural wonder of this county. I’ve seen you in shows before; I saw you in a production number at the end of ‘Guys and Dolls’ where there were 35 people on the stage singing at the top of their lungs, and all I could hear was one note [coming from you],” said Smith. “You were right on top of it. I’m so proud to be here to hear this performance.”
Ouellette sang “He Loves to Make Me Cry” by Kristen Kelly.
“Girl, you got some pipes,” Smith said of her performance. “You really, really pulled it off and gave us a great show. Thank you.”
Quinones entertained the audience with his up-tempo performance of “Sold” by John Michael Montgomery.
“Justin that was fabulous … you can tell by the audience response and our response. What an entertainer you are,” Ladner said. “You got us going right in the beginning … got us clapping, but then when you started doing all those gestures with your song, it was just great. I enjoyed that a lot.”
Deschene kicked off the show with “(Hey Baby) Let’s Go to Vegas” by Faith Hill.
“That was a great way to start the show tonight. I think you have a wonderful voice, but I was most impressed with your stage presence,” said Ladner. “You acted like an old pro, or a young pro in this case. You seemed very comfortable; I like the way you gestured through the song like you didn’t have a nerve in your body. I was very impressed. You did a wonderful job.”
Also competing in the central Aroostook show were:
• Todd Corey of Presque Isle, who sang “Your Everything” by Keith Urban.
• Malari Page of Caribou, who performed “Breathe (2 AM)” by Anna Nalick.
• Denise Michaud of Van Buren, who chose “You’ve Got a Friend” by Carole King and James Taylor.
• John Thomas Buckley of Presque Isle, who selected “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers.
• Michael Ouellette of Westfield, who sang “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash.
• Robin McLellan of Mapleton, who performed “More Than a Feeling” by Boston.
• Allyson Plummer of Washburn, who sang “Wild Horses” by Natasha Beddingfield.
• Josh Doughty of Presque Isle, who chose “Why Don’t We Just Dance” by Josh Turner.
• Nicole Adams of Fort Fairfield, who selected “Changed” by Rascal Flatts.
• Raeann Michaud of Presque Isle, who performed “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood.
• Kent McLellan of Mapleton, who sang “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes” by George Jones.
Also providing entertainment during the evening was judge Annie Charles of Limestone, who was crowned the 2007 Aroostook Idol winner, and 2013 Northern Star Brandon Clark of Houlton. The show was hosted by Claudia Stevens, executive director of the United Way, and Jason Parent.
Singers selected to advance from the Houlton show were Kristen Mazur of Linneus, Amira Abouleish of Houlton, Dan Rooney of Presque Isle, and Nick Lunn of Hodgdon.
Selected to advance from the Fort Kent show were Adam Ouellette and Indya Ouellette, both of Madawaska, Cady Hebert and Emily Marin, both of Fort Kent.
All proceeds from funds raised at the door go directly to the United Way of Aroostook’s annual campaign. Since the United Way of Aroostook launched the original “Aroostook Idol” fundraiser, it has drawn more than 200 competitors to the stage. Northern Star generates between $25,000-$30,000 per year and has raised close to $300,000 to benefit agencies funded by the United Way in Aroostook County.
“We hope that everyone recognizes that while you’re here to support your favorite performer and listen to some really talented singers, the true purpose of this event is to raise funds for the many programs that the United Way of Aroostook funds,” said Wanda Guiggey, campaign chair.
“Between all of the agencies and internal programs, such as Santa’s Sleigh Project, Dress a Child, Aroostook CA$H Coalition and Dolly’s Imagination Library, that we fund, the United Way of Aroostook is able to serve about 36,000 people, or 48 percent of the population of Aroostook County that gets touched by the funds that we’re able to raise,” said Cheri Doak, board president, noting that 13,300 of those individuals live in central Aroostook County. “In the last 13 years, we’ve awarded approximately $4 million to agencies to make a difference to people in the area.”
This year’s campaign goal is $490,000.
The Northern Star finale will be held Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. at the Caribou Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 and are available at all KeyBank branches and at the United Way of Aroostook office, located at 9 Dyer St., Suite 2, in Presque Isle. For more information, call the United Way at 764-5197.
