Airman Jamie Jarman soars to victory as Fort Leonard Wood's newest Rising Star

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  • By Matt Decker
FORTLEONARD WOOD, Mo. --  Cheered on by several hundred of her fellow Airmen, Jamie Jarman soared to victory in the Operation Rising Star installation-level finals, Aug. 25, at Pershing Community Center.
"I did not expect this," said Jarman, an Airman with the 366th Training Squadron, Air Force Detachment 7, moments after Master of Ceremonies Richard Vickers announced she had won.

"I really couldn't believe that I was one of the last two standing up there on stage. ... I feel like I'm dreaming," Jarman said.

Jarman was among the final five contestants competing for votes from the audience and a four-judge panel at the conclusion of the month-long singing competition held by Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

With the win, Jarman took home the $500 first-place prize, and will have a chance to advance to the Army-wide semifinals.

Jarman beat out Praise Pitchford, a military family member who took the second-place prize of $250; family member Catrina Wells, who took third and $100; Capt. Regina Davis, who took fourth, and Spc. Jonathan McGowan, who took fifth.

The 366th Training Squadron also took home the Spirit Award, earning $300 in unit funds for showing the most participation of any unit throughout the event.

"We won twice tonight -- we were very blessed; very fortunate," said Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Sheredy, Air Force Det. 7 commander. "I'm incredibly proud. Whether Airman Jarman had taken first or fifth, I would have been proud. This is also the second year the Air Force has taken home the Spirit Award, so I'm pretty proud of that."

The five finalists selected the two songs they would sing in successive rounds for the finals.

While the audience determined 50 percent of each contestant's final score, the other 50 percent came from the judges, who gave Jarman high marks for her song selection, delivery and vocal power after she belted out the Fugees' 1996 version of "Killing Me Softly" in the first round, then followed by crooning Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Kind of Man."
"That's the performance that really brought chills to me," said Sgt. 1st Class Al Torres, 399th Army Band, after Jarman's second performance.

Pitchford earned the highest praise of the night from the judges, singing her own composition, "Fulfill Your Purpose," in the first round. She followed with William Murphy's "Praise Is What I Do." Before the competition was even completed, judges Tracy O'Quinn and Shawn Anthony, who are both radio personalities for station KFLW 98.9 in St. Robert, asked Pitchford to record "Fulfill Your Purpose" for their broadcast.

O'Quinn called Pitchford's performance of the song, "absolutely phenomenal."

"I wonder if she realizes just how good she is," O'Quinn said. "We would love to play that on the air."

Pitchford said she was "blessed, honored and humbled" by the offer.

"I'm truly excited, because I get a chance to spread my message of music -- the music that's in my heart -- to the world," she said.

Also performing his own music was McGowan, a specialist with the 5th Engineer Brigade. After singing his version of Tracy Lawrence's "Paint Me A Birmingham" in the first round, McGowan transformed from country crooner to hip-hop artist, rapping and singing, "Jesus, I Love You," in his finale, which had several audience members clapping and singing along.

"That was so much fun -- I was shocked when he started rapping," said Tech Sgt. Bobbie Gomez, 366th Training Squadron, who also served as a contest judge throughout the competition.

Wells led off the competition singing Lee Ann Womack's "Does My Ring Burn Your Finger." She followed with "Always On My Mind," written by Willie Nelson and made famous by Elvis Presley.

Wells got high marks not only for the power of her voice, but of her vocal control and the emotion she put behind both songs.

"I literally got tears in my eyes," O'Quinn told Wells after the second round. "That was really powerful."

Davis, who serves with the Medical Department Activity, also earned praise for her renditions of Michael Buble's "Home," and "Alabaster Box," by CeCe Winans.

"I can tell you really feel that song -- and you made us feel it, too," Anthony said of "Alabaster Box."

Prior to the start of the final round, several judges said they felt privileged to be a part of the competition, and that choosing winners wasn't easy with the many talented singers that participated.

"I was very surprised how hard it has been to judge this," O'Quinn said.

Gomez said competitors improved every week. "All the contestants have really listened to what we've had to say. We see the improvement in all of them, and they all seem to take it very seriously," she said.

Torres, who holds degrees from Eastman School of Music and Old Dominion University, described himself as the "Simon" of the contest, which is loosely based on the TV show "American Idol." While Torres elicited some boos from the audience during previous rounds, he had few critical words for the five finalists.

"I try to be honest. Somebody's got to be the bad guy -- but I'm really a nice guy," he said. "We've got a lot of great talent out here tonight."
As the winner, Jarman hopes to follow in the footsteps of last year's Rising Star winner, Julio Petersen, who went on to join the cast of the U.S. Army Soldier Show.

"I really hope to try out for Tops In Blue -- to try out for the Air Force and sing with the show," Jarman said. "That would be amazing."

Jarman said she learned to sing from her father, Richard Jarman.

"My dad has been singing his whole life and taught me how," Jarman said. "He's back at home in California. He actually drove 30 hours all the way out here just to see me a couple of weeks ago. He's definitely my inspiration."