MUKILTEO — A gym full of students were treated to an impromptu concert during a pep assembly at Kamiak High School on Friday.
Math teacher Chance McKinney performed his song “Be Real” and received chants of “Vote for Chance McKinney” in return.
He’s one of two finalists in Country Music Television’s Music City Madness online contest. The competition pits McKinney head-to-head with another country musician and asks viewers to vote as many times as they want to determine who wins. The winner is expected to be announced at www.cmt.com on Dec. 15.
“It was eye-opening, it really was,” McKinney said. “That whole gym was filled to the brim. It was quite a response. I didn’t know how many kids were hooked into this.”
McKinney wrote “Be Real,” the song he entered in the contest, in 2005. He performed the song for the first time in August 2006 when Nathan Chance, the group he was part of at the time, opened for the country group SheDaisy at the Tulalip Amphitheatre.
Now his song is getting a little more attention.
Student networks at Kamiak, Eastlake, Glacier Peak, Skyline and Woodinville high schools have helped spread the word about his song and the competition, McKinney said. So have his friends and family in his home state of Montana and news and radio organizations in Oregon and Utah.
McKinney’s music video, an introduction by some of his students and clips from the school performance will be part of CMT’s Top 20 program on Dec. 11, 12 and 13. He will also perform live on Dec. 11 at the Performance Grill in Auburn and on Dec. 18 at Gerry Andal’s Restaurant in Stanwood.
Whoever receives the most votes by Dec. 14 will win a televised national recording session at Nashville’s Studio 330, the opportunity to audition for Valory Music, and a meeting with country star Reba McEntire.
McKinney said he and his competition, singer Danny Hamilton, have shared tweets through the social networking site Twitter. He also said Hamilton “seems like a nice guy.”
McKinney suspects people are working just as hard on Hamilton’s behalf and said he doesn’t expect that he or his fans will really get much rest until after the winner is announced.
“I can’t let up,” he said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity … I can’t rest in good conscience knowing others are working so hard for me.”
Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491, adaybert@heraldnet.com.
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