thedrifter
07-30-07, 06:32 PM
Female fans go ga-ga for Gracin
(Published Monday, July 30, 2007 12:15:42 PM CST)
By Stacy Vogel
Gazette staff
Josh Gracin fans can offer a list of reasons to like the young country star: his rich voice, soulful lyrics and personable style.
Of course, a charming grin and good looks don't hurt.
"He's really cute," said Elizabeth Westrick, 12, Milton. Elizabeth was accompanied by three other 12- to 14-year-old girls-all sporting pink cowboy hats with rhinestones-who agreed.
The crowd was noticeably sparser at the Rock County 4-H Fair concert Sunday than it had been previous nights, when George Jones and Foreigner took the stage. Several audience members said they were just there to hear some music on the last night of the fair.
But the screaming teen-age girls pressed against the stage knew who they were there to see, and the 26-year-old star certainly knew how to work an audience.
"The more rowdy, the more loud, the more crazy y'all get, guess what?" he said. "The louder and more rowdy we get onstage!"
Gracin kept his fans eager for more as he tossed items such as drumsticks, guitar picks and T-shirts in the crowd. He even managed to work a reference to Wisconsin into the song "Favorite State of Mind."
He often talked to the audience between songs, telling them about his childhood in Michigan and his four-year stint in the Marines.
He also sang "I Can Only Imagine," a Christian song a group of servicemen once asked him to play before they shipped out to Iraq, he said.
The song earned him at least two more fans. Louise Barlass, Janesville, and her 14-year-old daughter, Sarah, wandered into the grandstand to hear the song and stayed for more.
The song meant a lot to Louise because it was played at her father's funeral two months ago, she said.
"We just had to come over and see him play that," she said.
Deidre Hummer, 15, Beloit, and her sister Leah, 14, have followed Gracin's career since his stint on "American Idol" in 2003, where he finished fourth.
Deidre said she likes his love songs such as "Let Me Fall" and "Endless Helpless Hoping."
"I just think he's hot," Leah said.
Ellie
(Published Monday, July 30, 2007 12:15:42 PM CST)
By Stacy Vogel
Gazette staff
Josh Gracin fans can offer a list of reasons to like the young country star: his rich voice, soulful lyrics and personable style.
Of course, a charming grin and good looks don't hurt.
"He's really cute," said Elizabeth Westrick, 12, Milton. Elizabeth was accompanied by three other 12- to 14-year-old girls-all sporting pink cowboy hats with rhinestones-who agreed.
The crowd was noticeably sparser at the Rock County 4-H Fair concert Sunday than it had been previous nights, when George Jones and Foreigner took the stage. Several audience members said they were just there to hear some music on the last night of the fair.
But the screaming teen-age girls pressed against the stage knew who they were there to see, and the 26-year-old star certainly knew how to work an audience.
"The more rowdy, the more loud, the more crazy y'all get, guess what?" he said. "The louder and more rowdy we get onstage!"
Gracin kept his fans eager for more as he tossed items such as drumsticks, guitar picks and T-shirts in the crowd. He even managed to work a reference to Wisconsin into the song "Favorite State of Mind."
He often talked to the audience between songs, telling them about his childhood in Michigan and his four-year stint in the Marines.
He also sang "I Can Only Imagine," a Christian song a group of servicemen once asked him to play before they shipped out to Iraq, he said.
The song earned him at least two more fans. Louise Barlass, Janesville, and her 14-year-old daughter, Sarah, wandered into the grandstand to hear the song and stayed for more.
The song meant a lot to Louise because it was played at her father's funeral two months ago, she said.
"We just had to come over and see him play that," she said.
Deidre Hummer, 15, Beloit, and her sister Leah, 14, have followed Gracin's career since his stint on "American Idol" in 2003, where he finished fourth.
Deidre said she likes his love songs such as "Let Me Fall" and "Endless Helpless Hoping."
"I just think he's hot," Leah said.
Ellie