Muskegon Idol - The Winner Is Shavon Paggett

It's time to celebrate!!  We've got a winner in town and who knows...maybe someday we'll be counting her name among the other famous people from Muskegon!

On November 12th the Muskegon Idol competition took place at the Frauenthal Center where 25 semi-finalists were invited to showcase their talents and compete for some pretty nice prizes.




It was the culmination of a lot of work put in by 103.7 The Beat and M-106.  Both locally owned and operated radio stations.

The contest was loosely based on what you see on any given TV network, but the local spin on things gave people in the area not only a chance to see how they stack up against other talented people...but a chance to perform on on of Muskegon's most revered stages, The Frauenthal Center.

Holidays Downtown Muskegon

There were a couple of qualifying events, one was at The Lakes Mall and the other was held at Dreamers Night Club Downtown  Muskegon.  There were finalists from both events competing at the Frau for the grand prize and the pool of talent sure didn't disappoint.   There were singers, musicians, dancers, rappers....country music....rock, rhyme...you name it.  It was truly an effort to show off the talents in Muskegon that might otherwise go unnoticed.

I personally was a preliminary judge the night the event was held at Dreamers and was floored by the awesome display of talent.  Young and old....individuals, groups, family and friends competed and the decisions were tough.  I even had to refrain from voting on a coupe of people who I knew from outside the competition.  One that I had to refrain from voting on I worked with at the Folkert Community Hub.  As it turns out, she didn't need my vote anyway.

Shavon Paggett is a behavior analyst at the HGA Support Services and she works daily with kids who have Autism and need a hand with learning to or improving their words.  Some kids are non verbal and need some help before they head in to school, some are school age and still need the support to get ahead a little.  It's a trying, yet rewarding job for those involved....it takes a lot of patience and teamwork to help these kids.  What didn't take a lot of team work was Shavon's performance.  I had never heard her sing until the night of the contest...but when I did, out came a soulful and beautiful voice and I was blown away.  To me, it was the perfect ending to a contest looking to find someone who truly deserves to be recognized past the daily 9 to 5 life and a "hidden talent" was shown!

I had a chance to catch up with Shavon and talk about the experience, take a listen to our chat below!!

It was a big win for Shavon, but I see it as a much bigger win for Muskegon.  You had truly local radio stations showcasing talent that might otherwise not be seen.  That talent was given the equal opportunity to advance in the competition and ultimately....perform on a stage that is beyond "historic".   The spotlight shown on Shavon and the 24 other finalists and we got a better look at ourselves....and what we can do in the process!!  To me.. THAT is community building.  Congrats to the winners...participants and sponsors for being part of a truly gifted community of great people!