POPSearch - Past POPSearch Winners

Past POPSearch Winners

Tracy Silva, a mother of two from Taunton, Mass., and van driver for special-needs children, won the inaugural POPSearch contest in 2004, wowing judges with her soulful rendition of "Fools Fall in Love" from the hit Broadway musical Smokey Joe's Cafe. She beat out more than 700 contestants from across New England for the chance to perform "Your Daddy's Son" from the musical Ragtime with Mr. Lockhart and the Boston Pops at the orchestra's marquis event: the annual July 4 Extravaganza. Ms. Silva has since sung with the Pops as a guest soloist three times in 2005 and 2006, in addition to performances at Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots games, at the Democratic National Convention, and as the opening act for Broadway star Maureen McGovern.

Frances Botelho-Hoeg, an elementary school principal from Kingston, Mass., was knocked out in the second round of the inaugural POPSearch, but returned in 2005 to sweep the competition by singing "When You're Good to Mama" from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Chicago. Ms. Botelho-Hoeg performed with the Pops on July 4 and traveled with America's Orchestra that summer on a national tour that included stops in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Ms. Botelho-Hoeg has since performed with the Plymouth Symphony and at such local events as Bunker Hill Community College's commencement.

Finalists in 2004 and 2005 included Wayne Hobbs, a bank vice-president from Vergennes, Vt. (2004); Ellen O'Brien, a sales representative from Winthrop, Mass. (2005); Kathy Porter, a marketing manager and grandmother from Braintree, Mass. (2004); and Joseph Rucker Jr., a social worker from Brockton, Mass. (2005).