Ellington

Santore Bracey was featured as a Jacksonian in the Jackson Free Press back in March 2006. On July 3, he participated in Fox 40's American Idol auditions and was chosen as one of the five top contestants for that day. (You can see his audition here.)

Auditions were also held on July 10 and will be held again on July 17, and five top contestants will be selected from each of those sessions. On July 23, the 15 semi-finalists will compete during a grand finale at Trustmark Park, and the top three will win a chance to go to New Orleans and audition for the producers of American Idol. How awesome is that?

I know that Santore is a pretty cool guy, and it would be great to see him make it to New Orleans. In his 2006 interview, he made a very profound statement: "If I come up, Mississippi comes up. That's it, point blank." It's nice to know that when he makes it big, he'll still remember where he came from and will want his home state to prosper.