Clay Aiken's mother to judge 'Gimme The Mike'

FOX 50 WRAZ-TV, the local FOX affiliate in American Idol runner up Clay Aiken's home town of Raleigh, NC, will be producing a local singing contest.

Titled Gimme The Mike, twenty-five local singers will be able to compete on television for prizes. The twenty-five contestants will be chosen from local auditions (April 3 at Triangle Towne Centre, 10am-5pm; April 4 at Cross Creek Mall, noon-5pm), with the auditions being open to anyone 18 years or older living in the FOX 50 viewing area. Potential contestants will be asked to sing acapella for one minute.

Then, from June 2, FOX 50 will air Gimme The Mike weekly at 7:30pm on Wednesdays, with five contestants singing before a panel of judges and a studio audience. One of the judges will be Faye Parker, Clay Aiken's mother, with others including Dick Hodgin of Osceola Studios and Brian Dawson from K97.5, WQOK.

One finalist per week will move through to the one-hour finale to broadcast live at 7pm on July 7. There will also be a wild card round, selected by an internet vote.

The entire series will be hosted by Jim Kelly from Mix 101.5, WRAL-FM. The first five shows will be taped at the Fletcher Hall in downtown Raleigh's BTI Centre, and will be free of charge and open to the public.

Full details can be found on the FOX 50 website.