News

January 29

Singer seeking chorus of helpers

Maria DuBiel needs votes to advance in online competition to move toward career goals.

By Sherry Long slong@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

WYOMING – Maria DuBiel grew up in her native Forty Fort singing along with records, and she started writing songs in high school. She now seeks to hear her songs as part of a soundtrack to popular television shows and movies and launch her career into the mainstream.

People can help DuBiel come one step closer to her dream by casting a vote for her original song, “Love Heal My Heart,” until 11:59 p.m. Monday at www.OurStage.com. The voting is part of the “Live At The Roxy” online competition sponsored by New Music Seminar, a leading music industry conference.

Her 3-minute and 8-second song ranked fourth at the end of the first round of judging as she beat out more than 1,600 other contestants. She originally thought the song ranked ninth at the end of the first round, yet later found out the correct ranking.

“That was pretty awesome. I was pretty excited about that,” she said.

Now in the semifinals, DuBiel’s song ranked number 14 as of 8:30 p.m. Friday. The daughter of Irene and the late Cyril DuBiel is one of 40 artists throughout the nation competing in the semifinals.

DuBiel must rank in the top 20 by the end of the judging to move into the finals. Music industry leaders will select the ultimate winner from that list.

If she wins she will perform Feb. 16 at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles to showcase her musical talent to music industry executives.

This is the first year the New Music Seminar has sponsored the “Live At The Roxy” to benefit unknown artists.

“The New Music Seminar has two goals: one is to work together to create a new music industry and the other is to help to break artists out of obscurity and hopefully expose new music to the public,” said Dave Lory, seminar co-executive director and producer.

DuBiel, now a Wyoming resident, is a full-time acoustic pop genre singer and songwriter spending her time traveling throughout the state and nation for performances.

“There is that energy that you get from performing and getting feedback from an actual live audience. There is nothing like it,” DuBiel said.

People wanting to vote for DuBiel must register for a free account on OurStage.com and may vote as often as they wish.

OurStage.com is a website allowing unknown artists to deliver their music to people directly through the Internet.

“We provide an intuitive platform that lets the stars of tomorrow connect directly with fans. And we foster an ongoing conversation between the musician, the music lover and the people who open doors,” according to OurStage.com website.

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