Twelve Year-Old From Aiken Wins WGOG Singing Competition

Twelve year-old Allison Skipper, a student at Kennedy Middle School in Aiken, South Carolina, was crowned the winner Saturday night of 96.3 WGOG’s 11th-annual Texaco Country Showdown. The event was held at the Gignilliat Center in Seneca. Skipper told WGOG’s Kris Butts she started singing at age 4, and lists superstar Carrie Underwood among her favorite singers. Skipper advances to the state level of the national competition, to be held September 28 at the Coweta County Fair in Newnan, Georgia. The competition’s first runner-up was the Oconee County band Confederate Attitude. In all, 11 acts competed in this year’s showdown. Over the years, stars such as Garth Brooks, Sara Evans & Brad Paisley have competed in the Country Showdown. At the 1983 National Final, Martina McBride & Neal McCoy competed against one another, only to lose to The Jim Arnold Band. In 1985, Sweethearts Of The Rodeo won the National Final before becoming one of country music’s hottest duos.