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FAIRFIELD — With his high-energy, back-flip laden act, Ethan Unklesbay won a handy victory Friday night, July 3, becoming the first male Fairfield Idol.
“It still kind of hasn’t sunk in yet, but it’s really, really cool, because I haven’t won anything this big,” he said after the results were announced.
This is only the beginning of the adventure for Unklesbay, 19. The Fairfield native just finished his freshman year at Brigham Young University in Utah and is planning a two-year mission trip to Chile.
He said music is just a hobby right now, “But if the door opens, I’ll take it.”
In addition to bragging rights, the winner walks away with a $500 gift certificate, a four-hour recording session at the local Moonlight Studios and discounts to local parks. The runner-up gets a $100 gift certificate and a two-hour recording session.
Unklesbay said he has a couple of his own songs he would like to record in the studio, and would like to cut an album. But his big plans for life are still to finish his degree and teach Spanish after returning from Chile.
The final round of the competition Friday night was at Village Green Park in Fairfield before thousands of visitors to the Red, White and Kaboom celebration.
It was a classic battle: youth versus experience, dueling guitars shooting it out for the honor of becoming Fairfield’s top musical talent.
The other finalist was Tom Giusti, 41, a professional musician who went to music school in Hollywood, Calif. “I’ve been playing music since I was probably 15,” he said.
Giusti’s fans said they appreciated his “strong, clear voice,” and mellow stage presence. Unklesbay wowed the audience with both acoustic and physical acrobatics, including a standing back-flip on the concrete stage.
In the first of the two-act competition, Unklesbay broke out his guitar for the song “I’ll Be There,” a tribute to Michael Jackson. Giusti followed with “Home,” by American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry.
In the second act, Unklesbay sang “Let Me Entertain You” by Robbie Williams. Giusti stuck with the guitar, playing a song he wrote called “Something About You.”
Giusti said he enjoyed the competition and plans to continue recording his solo album. “I’d like to be doing this full time,” he said.
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