Local Singers Head to Hollywood Hoping to Make it Big

The one thing there is no shortage of in the local area is musical talent. Go out to Hollywood for Fox's "American Idol" or NBC's "The Voice" and you could just run into a local teen or two, or even three, hoping to make it big in the music business.

Last week, sophomore Brianna Faulk appeared on American Idol Hollywood Week after successfully auditioning for the show in Savannah. The Walton County teen made it through to Hollywood Week with a rendition of the late Whitney Houston’s “I Want to Dance With Somebody.” Not surprisingly, the 16-year-old was shocked to hear of the death of her idol Saturday, writing on her Facebook page, “Wow, can’t believe I’m sitting here crying right now… I mean u don’t understand how much Whitney Houston has impacted my life.”

Faulk didn’t make it past Hollywood Week, but another local teen did and fans are watching this week to see if she makes it past Group Week.

sophomore, Taylor Bahin, 15, from Bethlehem, also auditioned in Savannah, made it to Hollywood Week and has now moved onto the next round.

in a preview of the Group Round episodes scheduled to air Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Also spending time in Hollywood recently was senior . A regular on the local music scene, Rager is also looking to go national. The 18-year-old successfully auditioned for “The Voice,” and is waiting for his episode to air. The Voice Airs on NBC on Monday nights and so far Rager’s audition has not appeared, but it is scheduled to do so in one of the next two episodes.

Someone who can attest to the benefit of spending time in Hollywood is another Loganville talent, 30-year-old Xavier Lewis. After winning the Georgia Lottery All Access Music Search in 2011, Lewis got the opportunity to record a track at Capital Records Towers. He recently got to release a video of his single, "Georgia Clay."