Third-time contestant Zach Jones takes 1st place at the 2014 The Woodlands Idol

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - On November 14, kids and adults alike piled into Papa’s Ice House for the 2014 The Woodlands Idol Finals. It came down to 10 finalists, all vying for the coveted title of The Woodlands Idol.

This was the eighth year for The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce event and it certainly did not disappoint. Every contestant wowed the audience with one song after the next.

There were four judges for the event including Lou Garino, a talk radio show host for BusinessNewsmakersRadio.com. Garino had a few words to say to the contestants before the competition.

“Rock and roll. Don’t be afraid to take a chance,” said the radio host.

The other three judges consisted of Kyle Hutton, a singer/songwriter and founder of Real Life Real Music, Theresa Yow, a vocal coach, and Mike Fuller of Fuller’s Vintage Guitar.

“There are a lot of people here that came to hear you sing. So sing like you mean it, and don’t forget to have a good time,” said Fuller to the contestants.

Each contestant graced the stage twice, singing the two songs they thought would make them stand out from the crowd. The four judges had the difficult task of scoring each singer on their song choice, charisma on stage, singing ability, and the audience’s reaction.

“I would hate to be in those chairs tonight,” said Randy Lovelace, the emcee, as he pointed to the judges.

The ten contestants performed in the following order:


Alexandria Salinas

Zach Jones

Samy Jo

Allie Johnson

Daryl Bullinger

Nathania Reid

Kaitlyn Reilly

Victor Suarez

Nelissa Dixon

Samantha Cearley

Each singer seemed to bring down the house, with the audience impressed with one song after the next. Twenty songs later, it was time to announce the top three winners. Taking third place and winner of $500 was Victor Suarez, who sang “El Triste” and “My Way.” Second place went to Samy Jo, who brought down the house with her two power ballads, Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing,” and Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.”

The first place winner and 2014 The Woodlands Idol went to Zach Jones. The third time was a charm for Jones, who had been in the competition the past two years as well. He was welcomed to the stage to take his title. He wowed the judges with his two songs, “Forever” and “Grundy County Auction.” His unique style and country twang brought him to the top, distinguishing him from the other contestants.

“I have done this three times in a row and it is really, really fun,” said Jones. “What’s next? Wherever it takes me. Wherever it goes, it goes. I’m just going to follow it. If it takes me somewhere it does, and I’ll me more than happy to go with it,” said Jones.

With Jones’ win, he took home $1500, as well as many different opportunities to sing at events including the Jolly Jingle at the Pavilion in December, an on-air performance on Sunny 99.1 and will even get to return to the 2015 The Woodlands Idol to perform as “last year’s winner.” He will also get vocal lessons with vocal coach and Woodlands Idol judge, Theresa Yow.

Click on the video below to see the highlights of The Woodlands Idol 2014!