Kid named Wentzville Idol on first try

Eleven-year-old Megan Bishop never has had singing lessons and never had appeared before a panel of adult judges. But, last month, she earned the title of Wentzville Idol over 24 other contestants.

Megan Bishop

In a two-day audition, the 7th grader won the right to represent the City of Wentzville and sing at several community events this summer.

Just a couple weeks after winning her audition, Megan sang on July 17 at the Wabash Days celebration in Old Wentzville. That Father's Day event celebrated the town's railroading history as a stop on the old Wabash Railroad.

Then, on July 4, she'll sing the National Anthem at the start of the Fourth of July festivities in the St. Charles County community.

She's also scheduled to sing at the city's August Sunset Concert.

That's pretty good for a slight, blond girl with little singing experience except as a member of her school choir.

The win was especially surprising because a number of audition contestants had much more experience. One other contestant was a 42-year-old woman who sang the National Anthem at last year's Wentzville July 4 celebration.

Amy Hays represented the Wentzville Parks and Recreation Department that sponsored the Wentzville Idol tryouts. She said the judges were three school music teachers and a representative of the Parks and Recreation Department.

Ms. Hays said the judges found Megan's performance "refreshing, especially her song on the second day of auditions."

On the first day, all contestants sang the same song, "God Bless America" with no accompaniment. On the second day, the 10 finalists got to pick their own song and could have accompaniment.

Megan chose to sing a Cheetah Girls' song, "Cinderella." She brought along a CD of an instrumental version of the lively song.

Megan said she picked "Cinderella" because "I wanted to sing something that was fun." She added the lively song also helped to hide the fact she was nervous.

She said all of the Wentzville Idol judges were "very nice." That was in contrast to the American Idol judges on TV. Simon Cowell can be very caustic.

Megan sings at the Wentzville Wabash Days Festival

Troy Keck was the Parks and Recreation representative among the Wentzville judges. The three music teachers were Gregory Lawrence, Heidi Curtis and Kelley Wolff.

Although she hadn't had any singing lessons, Megan said, "I started singing around the house when I was real little."

She listens and sings along to music all the time and has an alarm clock that plays CDs.

She also has her radio tuned to local pop and country western stations.

Megan said she likes country singer Tim McGraw and also enjoys two American Idol alums, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

She said she also has a CD of the music from "High School Musical."

Megan said she got good placement at the auditions. She sang 4th on the first day and was 3rd on the second day. That meant she didn't wait around too long and get more nervous.

She sang three verses of the "Cinderella" song, along with the chorus after each verse.

Megan's mother, Teri, said she's now thinking of enrolling Megan in some singing lessons. "There's a music school near our house," Ms. Bishop said.

Megan's family moved to Wentzville three years ago after her father, Mike Bishop Jr., retired after 20 years in the U.S. Marines. Megan was born in Okinawa, Japan, and lived for a time in Hawaii before coming to the St. Louis area in 2004.

Although only 11, Megan will be a 7th grader in Fort Zumwalt North Middle School in the fall. She's one of the youngest 7th graders because she started kindergarten overseas, where the admission age was lower than in Missouri.

Megan said she isn't sure whether she'd like to be a performer when she grows up.

"I like performing but I'm not sure about the future," she said.

Although she hasn't had any singing lessons, she has taken dance lessons. "I like to both sing and dance," she said.

She said her favorite class in school is language arts and is considering being a teacher.

She said she'd like to go to St. Charles Community College for two years and then finish at Lindenwood College. Both schools are near her home.