Music Alive! Music Education for Today's Generation

2010 "Elvis 75" Student Contest Winners!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER IS GOIN’ TO GRACELAND

The Music Alive! 2010 Student Contest presented teenage students with a special challenge in honor of Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday. Contestants were asked to select one of three Elvis songs (“All Shook Up,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” or “Don’t Be Cruel”), determine a 60-second portion of the song to perform, create a recording (either audio alone or audio and video) of their own performance, and send their recording in to Music Alive! The students’ singing could be accompanied or a cappella, but the ultimate challenge was to show their own unique style rather than imitating the King.

Our Grand Prize Winner, Hanna Samawi, an 8th grader at Hickory Creek Middle School in Frankfort, Illinois, wowed judges with her simple yet completely individualized rendition of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Using lovely vocal styling, Hanna truly made the song her own. As Grand Prize Winner, she will receive:

*Elvis 75: Good Rockin’ Tonight, the career-spanning DVD boxed set of recordings by Elvis Presley
*The honor of having her performance video streamed on Elvis.com, the official Elvis Presley website, for millions of visitors to see

*An all-expenses-paid trip to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, for herself and two (2) adults!!! This trip will include round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations for two (2) nights, plus tickets and a tour of Graceland, Sun Studio, The Rock ’n’ Soul Museum, STAX, and the Memphis Zoo!




Our 2nd Prize Winner, Pa Ying Yang, a 12th grader at James Madison Memorial High School in Madison, Wisconsin, also provided a lovely performance of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” She will win:

*Elvis 75: Good Rockin’ Tonight, the career-spanning DVD boxed set of recordings by Elvis Presley


Our 3rd Prize Winner, Soane-Patita Mafi, a 6th grader at St. Timothy's Elementary School in San Mateo, California, created a fun video of himself performing part of “All Shook Up.” He will win:


*An online “Plus” membership in The Ultimate Elvis Insiders fan club (www.elvis.com/elvisinsiders)

Thanks to Elvis Presley Enterprises for making this contest possible, and congratulations to Hanna, Pa Ying, and Soane!