Sinatra Idol Contest Crowns New Crooner

Start spreading the news: Hoboken has a new Sinatra Idol.

Greg Myers of Plainfield bested a sixteen singer field to win top in honors in Hoboken's official Frank Sinatra impersonator contest Thursday night, earning a perfect score from all five judges for his rendition of “The Way You Look Tonight.”

This was Myers' third year in the competition, the fifth time the Hoboken Department of Cultural Affairs has staged the contest as part of its summer events series. Myers took third place last year.

Cultural Affairs Director Geri Fallo hosted the event at the Sinatra Park amphitheater along with Sinatra style singer Gary “Simpsinatra” Simpson. The judges included Dale Monaco, Sinatra's second cousin and only relative still living in Hoboken, Ernie Contri, himself a singer known as "The Other Kid From Hoboken," Diana London and Florence Pape of the Hudson Theatre Ensemble and Numa Saisselin, CEO of the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.

According to London, the judges were prepared to hold the contestants to a high standard.

“Sinatra had this great ability to live every line of music, to breath life into his lyrics,” she said. She added that she and the judges would particularly look to see if any of the contestants could match Sinatra's phrasing and enunciation.

The contestants were diverse in age range. All wore dark suits, some even tuxedos, and many sported fedoras. Many live nearby in New Jersey, though some traveled from very far away, including James Dempsey from Virginia and Rick Valiant from Vancouver. At least two contestants, Paul Coyne and Barry Wayne, currently live in Hoboken.

Each of the performers earned several scores of three and four on a five point scale as they belted classic Sinatra hits such as “Luck be a Lady Tonight,” “The Summer Wind,” and “My Way.”

But it was Myers who wowed the judges and an audience of some 300 people the most.

“He nailed it from start to finish,” Saisselin said. “He was in perfect tune and carried the song emotionally.”

In addition to the honor of being known as the reigning Sinatra Idol, Myers earned a trophy, gift certificates to Sparrow Wine & Liquor, the Madison, and Arthur's Tavern and an invitation to perform at the Count Basie Theatre's annual Sinatra Birthday Bash in December.

“I'm humbled, really overwhelmed right now,” Myers said upon accepting the award.

He then joined second place winner Rick Valiant, third place winner Steve Kazlauskas, host Simpsinatra, judge Contri, 2010 winner David Arellano and all the other contestants to serenade the crowd with some encore songs.