Road to fame

TV reality shows scoop up Henderson talent

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Heather Brown belts a soulful version of "At Last" into the microphone in Anthem resident Billie Cole's DeBlanc Music Studio.

The studio is in Cole's house, a converted garage with microphones and a keyboard. A small couch is against the wall, near where the singers stand. Magazines are scattered on the coffee table for parents to read while they watch their children learn to breathe and belt.

Brown's song reverberates off the walls from the speakers. "I've been singing ever since I came out of my mom."

For this eighth-grader at Schofield Middle School, that's 14 years.

Brown and other students Cole trains recently auditioned for Simon Cowell's new reality show "America's Got Talent."

"I kept expecting them to ask for my ID [at the audition]," Brown said. "I don't think they believed I am 14."

The contestants will be shown on the show's debut on June 21 on NBC. Local station is KVBC, Channel 3-TV.

The students auditioned for the show, most were unable to say if they made the final cut due to agreements with the producers.

Cole did say producers had notified her that Aimee Rochelle, 16, has been accepted for the new show's season one or two.

Basic High School student Rochelle hopes she will get a chance to win the $1 million prize from "America's Got Talent."

"I feel privileged just to have the opportunity to compete," Rochelle said.

Rochelle has been singing ever since she can remember. Her family has a video of her singing while standing on their fireplace at 2 years old.

She said she prefers to sing songs "with a lot of feeling," such as R&B and blues.

Rochelle said she knew she wanted to sing after performing "Hopelessly Devoted" in third grade and seeing the way she impacted people in the audience.

"I loved the energy," she said.

Cole trains about 60 to 70 students at her studio. Many of them go on to record albums, perform on Broadway or attend prestigious music universities.

Cole's youngest student is 5 years old. The oldest student she has taught is 84-year-old Nevada System of Higher Education Regent and World War II Air Force veteran Jack Lund Schofield, for whom Brown's middle school is named.

"He wanted to record a Frank Sinatra album for his family," she said.

Cole's students include back-up singers in Cirque du Soleil's "O," Wayne Newton's show and in Celine Dion's "A New Day..."

She trained Stevie Jewel, whose songs are played on Canadian radio; Sarah Millet, a 17-year-old understudy in The Second City at the Flamingo; and 18-year-old Megan Koumis, a classical singer who Cole said is called a "female Josh Groban."

Cole said her students are good because she trains them hard.

"I train them like they're going to be stars," she said.

Confidence skills are the key, Cole said. She said she has turned trembling introverts into boisterous extroverts.

"I tell my students, 'develop who you are.' There's only one you on the planet," she said.

Cole was classically trained at a conservatory of music in Australia. She moved to Las Vegas nine years ago, and has been teaching singing for 20 years.

"I've heard and seen it all," she said.

Coronado High School student Stefania Zaretti, 18, hopes to compete on ABC's "The Music Project."

The show is advertised as a cross between "The Real World" and "American Idol," where the contestants live together in the same house and receive training from celebrities. The winner receives a record deal.

"[At the audition] the judge asked me what I did for a living," Zaretti said. "I told him I work as a hostess and he said, 'You won't be a hostess for very long."

The executives told Cole they hope to represent Zaretti as "the Italian Princess" on the show.

Cole said she received a call from one of the casting directors saying Zaretti is under "high consideration" to be chosen as one of the contestants.

She will find out soon if Zaretti made the executive cut.

Zaretti has been singing since she could talk and said she hopes she will sign a record contract.

"What beats this? It's doing something you love," she said.

Zaretti said her psychic aunt told her August would be a good month for her.

She said she hopes that's a good sign for her chances on "The Music Project." August is when the show premiers. ABC local affiliate is KTNV, Channel 13.

"Pray for me that I win and become famous," Zaretti said.

Cole said the music reality show trend is good for people hoping to become famous.

"I think it's a replacement for when you could walk up to a record company's building and get a deal," she said.

Many reality television shows choose Las Vegas as an audition location.

Cole said this does not surprise her. "It's the entertainment capitol," she said. "Everyone wants to be a star."

This attitude is reflected in her students.

Cole said she takes anyone, even the "mousiest" of voices.

"I love what I do and that comes through in the students," she said. "They can do whatever they choose to do."

Brown said if she wins, she will probably spend the prize money on shopping.

Whatever happens, Brown will be attending Las Vegas Academy in the fall.

If Brown doesn't become a singer, she said she wants to be a brain surgeon. But she said she would love a record deal.

"If that's where my life leads me, I would totally go for it," she said.