Stephanie Bowen was named the first ever ‘Voice of Baltimore’ this week at popular Padonia Station in Timonium. (VoB Photos/Bill Hughes)
WINS ANNUAL COMPETITION AT PADONIA STATION
OVER 104 OTHER CONTESTANTS, 16 FINALISTS
STAR SPANGLED BANNER PERFORMED 18 TIMES AT FINALS
By Alan Z. Forman
When’s the last time you heard the Star Spangled Banner performed 18 times in a single evening? — and cheered wildly every time you heard it?
When did you ever hear it sung by 17 semiprofessionals, most of whom were as good as any featured singer you’ve ever seen or heard on television, on stage or in the movies?
This is no exaggeration. The 17 finalists at Padonia Station’s annual competition to pick the first ever “Voice of Baltimore” were so surprisingly good Monday night it was nearly impossible for the six judges who had to evaluate them to pick a winner.
Each was required to sing one song of their own choosing plus the national anthem before a packed house, capping six weeks of competition for the award: One of the prizes for the winner is the chance to sing the Patrick Henry song at an upcoming Baltimore Orioles baseball game at Camden Yards.
Or at least that’s what one of the contestants thought, obviously not someone from Baltimore. As she introduced the song she mistakenly attributed it to the Revolutionary War patriot from Virginia instead of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key, who penned the lyrics while being held captive aboard a British warship bombarding Fort McHenry in the Inner Harbor in 1814, where the famous flag then flew.
History however was her only fault, and was probably the only mistake of the night: she sang the song beautifully.
Not to be outdone, the 18th rendition was performed during intermission by a 64-year-old first-round contestant (not a finalist) decked out in red, white and blue named Susan Clark, who sported a red, white and blue cane as well.
But the No. 1 rendition Monday night was sung by a 25-year-old Towson University graduate from Forest Hill — a community in Harford County, north of Bel Air — named Stephanie Bowen, who blew the audience away with her version of what was once a drinking song, and also her take on Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” her song of choice for the final event.
