Recently I was overjoyed to hear that Connor Blackly of Florida was awarded a front of the line audition pass for Simon Cowell’s new Talent Show X-Factor which will air this fall on Fox.  Connor was first introduced on this blog more than a year and a half ago and his vocals have become even more pronounced and much deeper. I have often toted that Connor would someday become a Country Star and he has just won an opportunity to possibly sing for America on this American Idol type show in front of a panel of judges.
Of course we don’t want to get too far ahead of the process as his audition for the show will not take place for another couple of weeks. However this is one blogger that has more than his fingers crossed for this young artist.
I asked his Mother to present a blow by blow account of how this all came about and she sent me the following letter to share with all of you.
“I was watching TV when I saw on Fox 30 News (a Jacksonville station), that they were having a “X-Factor Front of the Line Pass Contest“. They were conducting  a contest at Latitude 30 (a family type club, w/ a bowling alley, arcade, restaurant, comedy/music theater), and they were going to pick 2 acts to win an all expense paid trip to Dallas for the actual X-Factor auditions, providing them with front of the line passes.
Connor had told me weeks earlier that he wanted to audition for the X-Factor, but the closest one to us, was the Miami audition, and besides the 6 hour drive on a weekday, Connor was previously committed to another engagement, so it didn’t happen. When I told him about the contest, he was very psyched, and said that he wanted to audition with his duet partner, Cortnie Frazier (age 12). I called Cortnie’s grandmother, Lawana, and she said that Cortnie would love to audition with Connor. So we coordinated outfits and the kids decided on the stage name of “C Squared” since their
names both start with “C”.
The date of the contest, Connor and I were the first in line. We were waiting for Cortnie, when the competition began, so they asked Connor to audition as a solo act while he waited for his duet partner. The judges really seemed to like him, and we got back in line. When Cortnie arrived they went in and they auditioned with “Need You Now” by Lady Antabellum.
The judges really seemed to love them, and asked them to sing something else….so the kids sang “Dream”.
After we left the room, someone with Fox 30 News, came out and asked the kids to wait because one of the judges, Sharon Spills, “The Face of Fox 30” wanted to take her picture with them. We took that as a good sign!
Three days later, we received a call from Sharon, and she told me that they had around 100 people compete in the contest, and that Connor and Cortnie, were one of the two acts they had chosen to send to Dallas. When I got off the phone with her, I immediately called Lawana. The kids were both still in school at the time, and since we were riding together, to the recording studio that afternoon, we decided to tell the kids together. Lawana wrote on a piece of paper “You’re going to Dallas” and showed it to them while I captured it on video. They were so excited!
Two days later, the kids were interviewed on the Fox 30 News Morning Show, and sang “Dream” live. They will also be getting to perform at Lattitude 30 sometime before the Dallas Audition.
Right now, Connor and Cortnie are just going over songs, trying to find the perfect one for the audition, and choosing their wardrobe. We’re hoping their choice of song and appearance really gets the X-Factor producer’s attention. They know that it will be a couple of rounds before they actually would get to perform in front of Simon Cowell and the other judges, but Connor and Cortnie are just thrilled to be going to Dallas, and are focused on the May 26th audition.”
Regardless of the outcome: Connor Blackley has just moved one step closer to achieving his dreams.
We wish you all the best Connor and Cortnie and really hope we get to see you perform on the National Level of the competition. Your harmonies are wonderful and you complement each other in a special way! We wish you the very best of success and I look forward to updating all your fans in a couple of weeks!
 Congratulations to Connor and Cortnie. Their voices harmonize really well . Connor`s voice is deeper now – but is also well refined .My observations on TV shows like that are that they have the potential to boost the public image of the young performers that participate in them. Sadly the cases when the young singers or performers make it to the top are not too frequent – even if Marcel Pietruch made it to the semi finals in Germany , yet recent cases such as the young Jack Virden in Australia and Ronan Parke in the US are clear evidence that the young performers almost always win the hearts of the public and earn a lot of supporters and followers.
Good luck to both of you ! I am counting on Rivenmaster to keep us updatedÂ
This is Connor’s mom. Thank you so much! Connor and Cortnie are so excited for the opportunity to audition for the show =)
That’s fantastic news!!!! Good luck and all the best to the two of you!