Willowbrook student, two Addison Trail alumni compete in Suburban Chicago's Got Talent contest

UPDATED 07/21/15

On July 19, Meghan Foley, who will be a senior at Willowbrook this fall, competed in the second round of Suburban Chicago’s Got Talent as one of the Top 15 acts.

Foley is now in the running to make the Top 10 – and she needs your votes! The act that receives the most Fan Favorite votes will automatically move on to the next round. You can vote for Foley through July 23 at http://tinyurl.com/pppuznf. The Top 10 will perform on Aug. 2 at Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg.

Foley is competing to win the grand prize, known as a "STARter Kit." It's a promotional package to help further the career of a budding artist that includes publicity photographs, the chance to perform at Arcada Theater in St. Charles as an opening act for a headliner and more. Also up for grabs is the Fan Favorite prize. The contestant with the most cumulative votes after three rounds of online voting will win the Fan Favorite prize of a Funjet vacation for two.

Winners of the contest will be announced during the Taste of Arlington Heights on Aug. 8. For more information about the contest, go to www.dailyherald.com/entertainment/talent. 

A Willowbrook student and two Addison Trail alumni were recently named as Top 20 finalists in the fourth annual Suburban Chicago's Got Talent competition.

They are Meghan Foley, who will be a senior at Willowbrook this fall, and Matt Buenger and Joe Christopoulos, who graduated from Addison Trail in 2009. The three were selected as finalists from a group of 70 who participated in closed auditions.

The first public performance of the summerlong contest took place on July 5 at Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. Participants are judged on their performances, and the Top 15 (which hasn’t been announced yet) will compete in the next round on July 19.

“It’s such an amazing experience,” Foley said of the competition. “It’s so cool to see all the people and get feedback from the judges.”

For her first outing, Foley played guitar and sang a song she wrote, entitled “Broke Not Broken.” She said she has been singing since she was about 3 years old and loves being on stage.

“I could run a mile after I perform,” Foley said with a smile. “There’s no other feeling like it. I love when the audience members are engaged in the words of my songs and feel what I’m feeling.”

While this isn’t Foley’s first competition (she has participated in several open mic contests), she is excited at the possibility of winning the grand prize, known as a "STARter Kit." It's a promotional package to help further the career of a budding artist that includes publicity photographs, the chance to perform at Arcada Theater in St. Charles as an opening act for a headliner and more.

Also up for grabs is the Fan Favorite prize. The contestant with the most cumulative votes after three rounds of online voting following the Top 20, Top 15 and Top 10 rounds will win the Fan Favorite prize of a Funjet vacation for two. Winners of the contest will be announced during the Taste of Arlington Heights on Aug. 8.

Buenger and Christopoulos comprise Aviation and the War, an alternative/indie band. The band was formed in 2012, but Buenger and Christopoulos have played together since high school. Buenger said they’re excited to be participating in their first community competition. For their first performance, they played one of their songs, entitled “Child’s Play.” For more information about Aviation and the War, go to http://aviationandthewar.com. 

Suburban Chicago's Got Talent is sponsored by the Daily Herald, Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg, Onesti Entertainment, AMITA Health, Rohrman Auto Group, Salon Lorrene in Palatine and the Arlington Heights Chamber of Commerce. For more information about the contest, go to www.dailyherald.com/entertainment/talent.