Watch parties planned in Caro
By Bill Petzold
Editor
CARO — Caro residents will once again burn the midnight oil (well, at least until 11 p.m.) to cheer for their favorite “Rising Star.”
Caro native Megan Tibbits, 26, is set to perform during Sunday’s episode of the reality television show “Rising Star” on ABC. The show begins at 9 p.m. and can be seen locally on WJRT TV-12.
Now two performances into her run on the show, Tibbits says the thrill has not faded.
“It just feels surreal,” Tibbits told The Advertiser on Thursday. “I can’t believe that I’m here and it’s a stepping stone toward my dream. It feels amazing.”
Megan’s second appearance July 13 was a “duel” against singer Sarah Darling. This time, Tibbits opted to accompany herself with her guitar — which she previously told The Advertiser was her “No. 1” instrument. A prelude to Megan’s performance showed her meeting with the show’s experts at Capitol Records. The experts include country star Brad Paisley, pop star Kesha and rapper/actor Ludacris — the lone expert to withhold his up-vote and seven percentage points after Megan’s first performance.
This time, Tibbits wowed the crowd with a sultry, bluesy rendition of the George Gershwin standard “Summertime.” It took Ludacris less than a full minute to lock in his up-vote, with Kesha and Paisley each giving Tibbits their votes as well.
“I am really excited about you,” Kesha told Tibbits. “Your voice is so phenomenal; I am obsessed with you. I’ve like been dreaming about you, seriously. I’ve been waiting for you to kill it like that, I was praying you’d kill it — and you killed it! I am so happy.”
Paisley — who gave Tibbits some advice about how to open the song while playing Tibbits’ acoustic guitar, much to her delight — was equally complimentary in his comments.
“You know, the thing that’s so impressive about you is your command of instruments,” Paisley said. “I have a feeling you’re one of these people who could basically walk into a music store and play everything in there.”
Ludacris, who offered constructive criticism the first week, noted that Tibbits took his comments to heart.
“If there was an award on this show for most improved — because last time she was sitting down and I don’t know if she reached the full potential of her voice, and I know we gave her the advice to stand up and project it — it was like night and day,” Ludacris said. “You blew me away.”
Tibbits is one of 13 remaining out of 30 — and five contestants will be eliminated Sunday. She said all 13 will perform.
“We’re all up kind of against each other,” Tibbits said. “The highest eight percentages go through, and five go home. The whole show is terrifying. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
On the homefront in Caro, fans are already planning on ways to show their support. Watch parties are planned at both The Oven and Pizza Hut in Caro. Pizza Hut will remain open until 10 p.m. and The Oven until 11 p.m.
See STAR A3
Louise Hodges, manager of Caro Pizza Hut, said she was proud to be the first business to wish Megan luck on her sign, and is delighted to see others joining in.
“We were the first one to put the sign up and I see more and more. The oven’s got one, the hopsital has one. People are getting on board. We’re always open until 10, but if people want to come in, if we have a group that want to watch it, we’ll stay open.”
At The Intermission, Tibbits fans can also show their support by ordering the “Megan Tibbits” — a mocha frappe with a shot of espresso and hazelnut syrup.
Intermission co-owner and general manager Tricia Phillips said her sister babysat Megan and her sister Melody — who now lives and teaches music in Switzerland, but is flying to Los Angeles to be with Megan on Sunday, along with the girls’ aunt, Tammy Kosters, who is the choir director at Caro’s middle school and high school. Phillips became friends with their family while singing with them on the worship team at Colwood Church.
The Intermission offered Megan’s favorite the #curlonfire sandwich this week — a ham and cheese sandwich on a pretzel bun with spicy firecracker sauce. Curlonfire is one of the hashtags used on social media to draw attention to posts about Megan, obviously a reference to her curly red hair. Megan’s first-week performance on the harp led to the hashtag #harpthrob, a play on the word “heartthrob.”
“I love Megan’s humble heart and sweet spirit as well as her amazing God given talent,” Phillilps said. “As I told her earlier this week, as a musician I can’t imagine the incredible pressure she is feeling from performing on such a public stage but she is handling it all with such grace. We are so proud to cheer her on.”
Tibbits said she is moved by the support of her hometown.
“All the Caro support is just blowing my mind,” she said. “People are sending me pictures of my name up on the signs and a special meal called #curlonfire and a coffee drink called a ‘Megan Tibbits’ … It’s so incredible to me and brings tears to my eyes because I feel so supported. It’s amazing.”
So what can viewers expect this Sunday? Tibbits was mum about her song selection, hinting it might be a bit of a surprise. She said she’s been busy at Los Angeles’ Jim Henson Studio, recording a version of this week’s song which will be available for download, along with her two previous selections, on iTunes.
“I’m bringing something different to the table this week; it will kind of be unexpected,” Tibbits said. “Picking a song is one of the hardest parts. I overthink it, and there’s so much to think about becauce I want to make sure that I’m showing growth, I want to make sure that the song is a little different but still highlights the best parts of my voice. That was the hardest part, but now we’re into reheasing and recording.”
Facing the threat of elimination this weekend, Tibbits said regardless of the outcome, she knows she’ll be alright.
“Faith is everything for this,” Tibbits said. “I feel like if I didn’t have Jesus in my life, if I didn’t have the knowledge that I can trust Him with every outcome, that he’s working it out for the good, then I would be a complete mess. Just having that (knowledge), it’s like a foundation. It’s like He’s opening these doors for me and I can walk through them knowing that it’s His plan. If I don’t make it through, I can trust that it’s OK and that’s what’s the best.
“And if I do make it, I know it’s ok and it’s what He wants. (Faith) changes everything.”