GENTRY — Colton Little, 13 and a student at Gentry Middle School, was the winner of the 25th annual Youth Talent Contest held at the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair in Ft. Smith on Sept. 23. Kaylin Cripps, a singer from Gentry, took third in the contest.

Little, of Gentry, sang LOVE by Nat “King” Cole and improvised his own dance moves during the performance to take home the $1,000 grand prize. Little also blew “air trumpet” during a portion of his perfor- mance.

Though unknown to many, Little has been performing in talent contests at

Colton Little

tion, Little pretended to play an invisible trumpet before using the encore to slide on his knees to the front of the stage, summoning a wave of loud cheers.

school and at local events for several years. He per- formed LOVE last year at a Gentry Schools talent contest.

“I saw the contest advertised on TV. I thought I could sing pretty well, so I entered,” Little said.

According to an article by Scott Smith in the Ft. Smith Times Record, “Little first emerged from the black stage cur- tain with a grin, some- what strutting onto the front catwalk portion of Harper Stadium’s stage. Several seconds before his song’s backing track started, the son of Me- lissa Little smiled at the shadowed audience.

“‘For all you ladies, this is your last chance to fall in love with me,’ he said with another smile before singing the song that was made famous by Nat King Cole in the mid-1960s. Little sang with confi- dence and worked the stage with a professional entertainer’s conviction, taking exaggerated steps to each beat. When it came time for the song’s brief instrumental por-

“Moments after Little was presented with the winning plaque, he stood near the center of the stage, posing for photographs and visiting with his fellow contes-

tants. “‘I’m amped; I’m amped to win this,’ said a wide-eyed Little. ‘It’s exciting.’

“Little admitted he spent only an hour or so rehearsing the song before he entered the contest.

“‘I really like old-timey songs and those old songs you hear in mov- ies,’ he said. ‘I’m excited about this, and, yeah, I was a little nervous. I didn’t really know what to expect.’”

The contest at the fair was sponsored by KFSM Channel 5.

Little plans to enter other contests as well, including the upcom- ing talent contest at the Gentry Fall Festival on the afternoon of Oct. 14.

What’s he going to do with his prize money? Little said he wasn’t sure but might buy a new phone and some video games.