Anchorage Daily News

April Knouse won the $300 top prize in the first ever "Alaska's Got Talent" contest at the Alaska State Fair late Wednesday night with a powerhouse performance of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall.

Preliminaries for the event took place on Sunday. The Wednesday finals were modeled on the popular television show, "America's Got Talent," complete with three judges who could hit buzzers and light up red Xs to dismiss performers. That they didn't exercise this option for any of the contestants was probably due to a spirit of generosity. "Heartfelt, but some slight intonation problems," said judge Marcus Lewis, aka "Marcus at the Movies" after one contestant missed a key shift and fell seriously off pitch.

"Uh... she hung in there," rejoined radio station manager Justin McDonald, another panelist.

(The third "celebrity judge" was Cheryl Metiva executive director of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce who at one point enthused, "I feel just like Paula Abdul!")

The judges could only sympathize with Dane Christiansen, whose act involved yo-yo stunts - but without background music due to a CD problem. In addition to performing in silence, he also wound up in the dark, stepping off stage to get more space for the tricks. Even that didn't help, though, when one of the yo-yos got caught in a rafter of the Borealis Plaza tent where it hung ominously for the rest of the show.

Other notable performances included Rebecca Allen's comic flapper song and vamp and the Terrific Tapping Teachers of Tanaina Elementary School in Wasilla.

But no one in the crowd (which became a full house, or tent, despite the lateness of the hour, as the rest of the Fair closed down) murmured when Valley girl Knouse was announced as the winner. Her strong baritone voice was throaty yet musical, her choreography smooth and inventive - including some suggestive interaction with the male panelists.

"It doesn't hurt to butter up the judges," McDonald remarked.

Second place, and $200, went to Gordon Traylor, who accompanied himself on guitar with his own song. The $100 third prize was won by Sheron Patrick for his Mat-Su version of Jason Aldean's "Hicktown."

Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.

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