Actress Lauren Stanford Wins 2013 MetroStar Talent Challenge
By: Tyler Peterson Aug. 20, 2013
The actress Lauren Stanford pulled off a dramatic win last night, as she became the 2013 MetroStar at the Metropolitan Room in New York. A Kansas City native with musical theatre credits, Stanford edged out her four co-finalists in tight scoring that belied how strong and evenly matched this year's MetroStar Talent Challenge Top 5 had become.
To win the jury and audience-voted singers' contest -- the Metropolitan Room's 6th annual -- Stanford held steady against Jason Morris (the first runner-up) and second runner-up Stephen Mitchell Brown. The two other finalists in the seven-week competition that began on July 8 were Venessa Diaz and Tony Ponella.As the competition revved up to its exciting five-finalist finale, Stanford had become a master at showing off flashes of zany humor and insight that gave special dimension to her highly polished interpretations of a variety of songs. When the host Jay Rogers announced that she had won, the Metropolitan Room crowd erupted. Stanford, gracious and demure, glided to the stage, appreciative but also somewhat surprised. Morris and Brown, representing the three men among the finalists, stood tall, gallant to a fault. (This was the first time in MetroStar history men outnumbered the women.)Videos