battle for the big o

Magnet, Indiana is home to the magnetic Jacob Lawalin.  And Saturday, he took the stage at WBKR's Battle for The Big O finale and our judges loved him.  Jacob finished 4th out of 16 Battle hopefuls and earned his spot in our Battle finale coming up August 24th.  And he did it with this performance of Thomas Rhett's "Something to Do with My Hands."  Check it out!

American Idol star Paul Jolley competed in WBKR's Battle for The Big O then went on to make the show's Top Ten.  Jenny Beth Willis competed in the Battle and the next year made it all the way to Idol's Top 20 girls.  Now another Idol hopeful has found her way to us.  Check out Brandy Neelly, who showed up Saturday at Towne Square Mall for Day Three of our Battle auditions, and blasted her way into

Central City, Kentucky is representing in this year's Battle for The Big O competition.  Over the weekend at Towne Square Mall, the trio Headed South took the stage and gave this amazing performance of Little Big Town's "Your Side of the Bed."  Take a look!

Owensboro's Jenny Beth Willis, fresh off her national television appearance on American Idol, has her sights set on a new competition.  And last week at O'Bryan's Bar and Grill, she took on the song "Up To The Mountain" and blasted her way into the finals of WBKR's Battle for the Big O.  Check out her performance.  It was amazing!

Jaclyn and I had a hunch we should lower the age limit for The Battle for The Big O!  And 13-year-old Hayley Beth from Hancock County showed up at our round one auditions Saturday at Trunnell's Farm Market and proved, instantly, that we made the right call.  Check out her version of Maggie Rose's song "Better."  This kid is GREAT!

Muhlenberg County is gonna be proud of these guys.  The band Boys of Broad came to Trunnell's Farm Market on Saturday to audition for The Battle for The Big O.  And, they made it through the first round and have qualified for the big finale, Saturday, August 24 at Diamond Lake.  Check out their audition and see how Boys of Broad qualified for the main event!

I'm gonna call it the "perfect storm." Only this is a good one. When you have peach season converging with Battle for the Big O audition season, you have something mighty special. This Saturday, at Trunnell's Farm Market, you're going to see just HOW special.

Paul Jolley's run on American Idol is over.  The former WBKR Battle for the Big O finalist leaned last night that he was this week's lowest vote-getter and he was ushered off the show in 9th place.  WBKR American Idol expert, Steve Thompson, called the WBKR Waking Crew this morning to share his thoughts about Paul's departure and which of the remaining eight contestants is the favorite to win! Rea

Finally!  If you have been watching American Idol this season, you have probably spent a lot of time scratching your head like I have.  Some folks that I have been rooting for have been cast aside.  Others, who I don't get at all, have been passed through to the live shows.  But tonight and Wednesday, America, our voices get to be heard.  Twenty contestants remain and our votes will determine who

Last week, the boys stepped to the plate during Hollywood Week on American Idol.  When the smoke cleared, just  28 of them remained, including former WBKR Battle for the Big O finalist Paul Jolley.  Now, tonight, all the girls who made it through Idol's initial audition rounds arrive for the dreaded Hollywood week.  Among them, Owensboro's Jenny Beth Willis.  Can she survive the drama and make the

Hundreds survived American Idol's auditions and made it to Hollywood.  Now, only a handful will survive to compete for a chance to perform on the live shows.  American Idol is on tonight and two contestants with WBKR ties are in the hunt!  Can they survive the drama that is Hollywood week?

This is VERY exciting.  Paul Jolley, who two years ago was a finalist in WBKR's Battle for The Big O talent competition, is going to Hollywood!  Paul was featured on last night's episode on American Idol and was shown auditioning before the judges in Baton Rouge.  Take a look at Paul's performance and see what the judges had to say about his powerful voice and story!