by Tyler Orton, Abbotsford News
A pair of local karaoke lounge crooners took to the national airwaves last weekend with a song routine that’s propelling them to another shot at prime time television.
Steve and Celeste Presby’s performance of Cher and Peter Cetera’s “After All” wowed the judges during the March 11 episode of Canada’s Got Talent and secured a spot for the Abbotsford couple in the next round of the reality show competition.
Although he’s been hosting karaoke parties for over a decade, Steve says he never thought he and Celeste were guaranteed any success on TV.
“I hoped that we’d do well,” Steve says, “but I wasn’t sure. I saw some of the acts they had and I thought it was really tough competition.”
The Presbys only started putting on performances together about a year ago, but they felt confident they had a chance to make it past the auditions as long as they showed they were enjoying themselves.
“The wife heard about (the audition) and we just thought, ‘Hey, let’s just go do it and have some fun,’” Steve says.
The pair showed up at the Westin Bayshore hotel in downtown Vancouver for auditions and before they knew it they were thrust in front of the cameras.
The show’s producers are keeping him tight-lipped about when the second round takes place, but Steve hopes more people will attend their local shows in the meantime.
The Presbys are known for engaging their audiences when they emcee karaoke parties and even provide second and third harmonies.
The pair made sure to incorporate their interactive tendencies into the television appearance when they managed to get a theatre full of strangers to sway their hands in the air during their performance.
Although Steve likens his stylings to Meat Loaf, he insists his wife falls into the Patsy Cline mould.
“She’s got that very deep, throaty kind of sound that the people just love,” he says. “She’s got quite a range and quite a voice.”
The couple will join eight other acts from the first part of the Vancouver auditions in the next round of Canada’s Got Talent.