Many have witnessed “Idol-mania,” the recent craze that, since 2002, has made Fox the go-to channel on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. But local school teacher and owner of Dublin Steakhouse and Erin’s Pub in Selbyville, Sean Oates, went one step further to bring the obsession to Delaware, hosting “Delmarva Idol.”
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Gina DiNuble poses for a picture during her cruise to the Caribbean, which she won as a prize for winning the 2007 Delmarva Idol contest, held at Dublin Steakhouse and Erin's Pub from May to July.
The winner of the first-ever competition was Frankford native Gina DiNubile, who has been perfecting her singing talent since toddler-hood. Along with being named “Delmarva Idol” on Sept. 4 of this year, DiNubile won a Caribbean cruise, a prize that may have triggered the initial spark in a professional music career.
DiNubile and friend Melissa Alesi have been performing as the acoustic duo High Maintenance at Erin’s Pub and other local venues. After Alesi returned to North Carolina for school this year, DiNubile tried to do what she could to keep her voice in solid form, from open-mic nights around town to the Delmarva Idol competition itself.
“There were different themes each week, so sometimes I was a little nervous,” she said. From country music, to ’80s hits, DiNubile and the other contestants were put to the test through the Selbyville contest.
The competition began in May and, each week, two guys and two girls were selected to move on, continuing for roughly two months. By July, competition had been whittled down with audience votes deciding who would advance and who would be eliminated.
Fortunately, participants didn’t have to endure notoriously malicious judge Simon Cowell. Instead, they were rated by the audience, DJs and hosts, and by Oates himself.
In the final week of the competition, the remaining female performers had three songs to sing: one of their choice, a selection from Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow or Melissa Ethridge, and a selection from Whitney Houston, Celine Dion or Mariah Carey.
“It was frustrating,” said DiNubile. “I’m an Alto II, and my voice is definitely not in the same range as the last three. I decided that if I was going to mess it up, I was going to have fun with it.” She chose Whitney Houston’s “I Want to Dance with Somebody.”
“Everyone got really into it,” she said. “I really enjoyed it.” Even competitor and runner-up in the competition Marshall Mitchell was up and dancing.
For her other songs, DiNuble chose “Black Velvet,” a song covered by Melissa Ethridge, and Eva Cassidy’s version of “Over the Rainbow,” a song that DiNubile said means a lot to her.
“It was the first song I ever sang when I was a little girl,” she said. “My mother cried when I sang it, but she really enjoyed it.”
Following the final week’s performance, winners were announced, with DiNubile taking home the title.
“I was really nervous as they were announcing the winners,” said DiNubile, “and I didn’t even hear my name at first. I couldn’t believe it. It’s cool, because it’s very small-town America. At the same time, I’m the 2007 Delmarva Idol. I had so much fun the whole time.”
With her first-place prize of a cruise for two, DiNubile set sail with her sister, Jenna, aboard a Carnival cruise on Sept. 23. They paid the way for their mother, Donna, to join them, traveling through the Caribbean to Nassau in the Bahamas, as well as St. Thomas and St. Maartens.
Onboard the ship, during karaoke one night, Gina was approached by the director of entertainment for the “Carnival Legends” show, a guest-participation performance where cruise-goers can assume the role of renowned musicians in a show before thousands.
“Normally, guests have to audition for the Legends show,” said DiNubile, “but he asked me to be in it, and it sounded really cool. I told him how I won the cruise and he was really impressed.”
DiNuble sang in the show, taking on classic songs by Madonna, complete with blonde wig, black mesh top, pink skirt and black-laced thigh-highs. “It was hysterical,” she said. “I got to perform in front of 3,000 people. I had a blast.”
After the show, she received some information about applying for a job as cruise-line entertainment. “It’s really incredible,” she said. “You get to travel and you’re meeting people all the time. I’d really like to be doing that someday.”
She’s pursuing the next steps to becoming a professional performer, including assembling a portfolio of her music history, head shots and a demo.
“My goal is to be through this entire application process by this time next year,” said DiNubile. “I want to be singing and traveling the world by next Christmas.”
She’s enjoying her local fame, stopping in to Dublin Steakhouse each week to follow the new Delmarva Idol going on now. Qualifying rounds will continue for another week before eliminations begin.
Customers are being encouraged to come out to Dublin Steakhouse in the Mason Dixon Shopping Center in Selbyville each Tuesday to listen to contestants and cast their votes. The winner of this installment of Delmarva Idol will even face DiNubile in a sing-off.
“It’s really a lot of fun,” said Dublin Steakhouse bartender Todd Nugent. “We get a great crowd, and people love listening and participating. Things get really competitive when the eliminations start up, but it’s a really great time for everyone.”
For more information about the Delmarva Idol, stop into Dublin Steakhouse, or call (302) 436-9400.