Dakota Neuman: Monroe's country star

He recently won the championship title in the statewide singing competition Washington Nashville Country Star, and graduation is right around the corner. So far, the future's looking bright for 18-year-old Dakota Neuman.

Currently a senior at Monroe High School, Dakota has been singing since he was 6 years old. Known as the Sky Valley's own country music sensation, Dakota performs regularly at local venues like Gold Dust Days in Gold Bar, Sultan's Summer Shindig Festival, Monroe's National Night Out and the Historic Everett Theatre. He's opened for national acts during the Evergreen State Fair and has performed at Evergreen Speedway and at an Everett Aquasox game.

Reaching new heights

An advocate for his community, Dakota organized a holiday food drive to benefit the Sky Valley Food Bank last December. He coordinated a holiday concert as an extension of the food drive, raising money for both the Sky Valley Food Bank and the Monroe Arts Council. Overall, he donated around 1,600 pounds of food to the food bank, along with nearly $700 in cash, in addition to his donation to the arts council.

"That went really well,GÇ¥ Dakota said. "It was a very cool event.GÇ¥ -á -á -á

His most recent accomplishment began to unfold earlier this year, when he made the decision to participate in the Washington Nashville Country Star competition. Starting in February, he participated in a series of performances that culminated in a final event that took place on March 28.

"I don't know that they've had a winner on this side of the mountains,GÇ¥ said Dakota's mother, Tammy. "To me, it's a great program and a good opportunity for kids to get on stage.GÇ¥

The competition began with an audition at Bonney Lake High School on Feb. 7. His performance during that first audition earned him a spot performing in the quarter-finals, which took place on Feb. 28 at Bourbon Jack's Honkytonk Grill in Kent. He successfully advanced out of the quarter-finals and prepared to move on to the semi-finals.-á

Playing to the right crowd-á

The semi-finals were held on March 14 in Okanogan, which is about 55 miles northeast of Lake Chelan. Dakota performed Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog,GÇ¥ choosing from an official song list provided by the competition. Participants are required to choose songs from the competition song list to compete in both the semi-finals and the finals. To prevent duplicate performances, only one performer is permitted to perform a particular song. -á

The Washington Nashville Country Star competition necessitated a shift in Dakota's typical mindset. Rather than focusing on positive crowd interaction, he had to be mindful of choosing songs that would aptly showcase his skillset.-á -á

"I always go for a song that's going to get the audience involved and going to be really fun to sing,GÇ¥ Dakota said. "You've got to look at it from a different aspect ' you've got to look at it from "What's going to impress the judges?' I haven't had to really do that.GÇ¥

When he learned from one of the event organizers that he was in sixth place going into the finals due to song choice, Dakota realized that he had to step up his game. Keenly aware of the fact that he was surrounded by exceptional talent and knowing that he needed to demonstrate range, he decided to really push himself during the final round of the competition.-á -á

Per competition guidelines, he selected two songs to perform in the finals, which were held in Omak. One song had to fall into the classic country category, while the other had to be either rock-'n'-roll, doo-wop or from the mid-1950s or 1960s. Stepping well outside of his comfort zone, Dakota selected "Sherry,GÇ¥ by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons and "God Bless the USA,GÇ¥ by Lee Greenwood.-á

Dakota had performed "God Bless the USAGÇ¥ in the past, but "SherryGÇ¥ was a new experience.-á

"It was a cool experience, I mean, it's a hard song to sing,GÇ¥ Dakota said. "It's a high song, and I think I did it justice.GÇ¥

Impressing the judges-á

Dakota was judged on tone quality, pitch, stage presence, vocal ability and control. He demonstrated versatility during his performance of "Sherry,GÇ¥ which requires extensive vocal range. After his performance, a member of the audience came up to congratulate him on his flawless rendition of the piece. Others bestowed their compliments on his Facebook page.-á

"You definitely have great range GÇô that is talent,GÇ¥ said Yakima resident Sabrina Hutton. "Your rendition of "Sherry' was spot on!GÇ¥

Dakota was slightly more critical of himself. After returning home from the competition, he hesitated before viewing the videos of himself at the finals. He finally reviewed his performances and was, for the most part, pleased with how he did. He was excited about how he sounded during "God Bless the USA,GÇ¥ but actually thought that "SherryGÇ¥ could have been a little better. -á

"I came back and listened to it and found three places I know I can do better at,GÇ¥ Dakota said. "I always look for stuff to work on and stuff to get better at.GÇ¥

Being the 2015 Washington Nashville Country Star champion earned him a check for $1,500, along with the opportunity to participate in additional fundraising performances affiliated with the Washington Nashville Country Star nonprofit organization. Each year, contestants from more than 350 high schools all around Washington state are invited to participate, receiving the opportunity to earn cash awards ranging from $250 to $750, depending on placement. The $1,500 award is reserved for the champion.-á

A bright future-á

After graduation in June, Dakota will begin to seriously contemplate a move to Nashville, Tennessee ' America's country music mecca. He hopes to be able to spend the summer working and performing, perhaps taking some time off to go camping.-á

This fall, he hopes to focus on working and saving money for his prospective move.-á

Whatever he decides to do, Tammy is prepared to support his decision 100 percent.

"People have said, "Do it now or you'll be 40 years old and regretting it,'GÇ¥ Tammy said. "It's something he's wanted to do since he was 5.GÇ¥ -á -á -á

For more information on Washington Nashville Country Star, visit-á www.wanashvillecountrystar.org.-á

For more information on Dakota Neuman, visit www.dakotaneuman.com/index_redesign.cfm or www.facebook.com/pages/Dakota-Neuman/193338620678356?fref=ts.-á