Fifteen Soldiers selected to participate in "Black Jack Idol"

Photo By Sgt. Robert Yde | Maj. Michael Duck (left) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Maj. Stephanie Sanderson of Raymer, Ala. and 2nd Lt. Ruben Acosta of San Antonio listen as Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division audition for "Black Jack Idol" June 12. The three officers are judging the event, which is based off of the hit show "American Idol."  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

06.30.2007

Story by Sgt. Robert Yde 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

By Sgt. Robert Yde
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE PROSPERITY, Iraq – Like many people, Maj. Michael Duck has an addiction. His vice is shared by millions of people throughout the world, a fact that is easily confirmed by the high ratings that their obsessions provide to television stations on a nightly basis.

"I'm a fan of reality TV," Duck said, admitting to his guilty pleasure.

According to Duck, the chief of operations for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, one show in particular, "American Idol," is a favorite of his, and he recently came up with the idea of replicating the premise of the show in Baghdad.

Throughout June, Soldiers have been encouraged to try out the brigade's version of the hit show, which is being dubbed, "Black Jack Idol."

"We devised this competition after 'American Idol,' and we thought we'd do something for the Soldiers and their morale," the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native explained. "We worked on this to try to come up with something for them, and that's basically how we got it started."

Just like the real "American Idol," a weekly competition during which contestants vying for a recording contract, sing and either move to the next round or are eliminated based on their performance, Black Jack Idol started off with several weeks of auditions.

The auditions were held twice a week and alternated between Forward Operating Base Prosperity and Forward Operating Base Union III, and as with American Idol, Soldiers performed in front of a three-judge panel.

Acting as the judges were Duck, 2nd Lt. Ruben Acosta, the brigade's assistant personnel officer and Maj. Stephanie Sanderson, the brigade's judge advocate.

"I'm looking for confidence, a nice full voice, someone who is outgoing and can perform in front of people and show their talents," Acosta said of the criteria he expects potential contestants to meet.

Acosta, who is originally from San Antonio, said he was invited to be a judge after Duck learned that he previously spent five years as a high school band director in Texas.

"It's a chance for Soldiers who have some abilities or talents to show it," he said of the competition, "and so far, it's been really interesting."

During the auditions, contestants were able to sing whatever they wanted, with the only stipulation being that the performance had to be accappella, a fact that Acosta said he took into consideration.

"It's kind of nerve wracking because there's no music behind them," he explained. "A lot of people are used to singing in a vehicle or in the privacy of their room. Now they have to come out here and sing with no background music or anything, and that's really tough; so you always give them the benefit of the doubt."

Once the actual competition starts however, the contestants will be backed by music provided from a karaoke machine, and each week a different genre of music will be featured, forcing them to demonstrate their vocal diversity, or lack thereof.

"We're going to pick the tone and genre of music during the competition. So each week is going to be a different person or different type of music their going to have to sing," Duck said. "We're going to see what they can do with a vast variety of types of music."

While the Soldiers who auditioned said they obviously love music, their experiences performing varied.

• Date Taken: 06.30.2007
• Date Posted: 07.01.2007 15:13
• Story ID: 11056
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ