City pair wins country showdown

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

WEST ALLIS - Two sisters from Watertown won the 27th Annual Wisconsin Country Showdown competition Thursday evening during the opening day of the 2008 Wisconsin State Fair.

Kathryn (Katie) Marie Origer Schuett, 27, and her younger sister Rachael Ann Origer, who turned 18 today, bested seven other entries to win the $1,000 cash prize and talent honors. They succeed last year's Wisconsin Country Showdown winner, vocalist Charissa Alyce Mrowka of McHenry, Ill. who won the state contest last year at age 11.

The blue-jean clad sisters, who competed as "Midnight Fire,” presented two songs during the 90-minute talent showdown competition. The audience heard them sing "The Strong One," which the sisters wrote and they performed "Passenger Seat" by the female singing group SheDaisy.

On July 9, the singing duel outscored eight other entries to win the preliminary round which was held during Maxwell Street Days in Hartford.

“This is the first time that our contest entry has won the Wisconsin Country Showdown in the 12 years that we've sponsored an entry to the state level,” WTKM-AM Hartford radio station general manager Scott A. Lopas, who also served as contest master of ceremonies at the state Country Showdown, said. It was the second time in five years that he served as the emcee of the annual state event. "We hope the sisters do well at the regional contest this fall.”

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Katie, a 1999 Watertown High School graduate, earned a graphic arts degree in 2003 from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Rachael, a 2008 WHS graduate, currently works as a nursing assistant at a Watertown nursing home and plans to attend UW-Stevens Point this fall majoring in nursing and music performance.

They started "Midnight Fire" this spring and each had previously competed in a Country Showdown preliminary prior to their win last month in Hartford. The two are the daughters of Diane and Mark J. Origer of Watertown.

They will advance to the Regional Country Showdown, to be held Oct. 25 in Flandreau, S.D. The winner there will advance to the 27th Annual National Country Showdown contest, to be held Jan. 22, 2009, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.

Each spring, more than 50,000 artists compete in the Colgate-sponsored local competitions with 450 radio stations throughout the U.S. and over $300,000 in cash prizes are awarded throughout more than 500 live competitions.

Local winners then compete at the 48 state and five regional competitions throughout the summer and fall. The Colgate Country Showdown culminates with a national television final competition as the regional winners vie for $100,000 and the title of Best New Act in Country Music. The televised one-hour special has been hosted in the past by country music superstars such as Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire and Willie Nelson.

For more information, visit www.colgatecountryshowdown.com.