Ryan Gillmor, 24, lives in the Pollock Pines-Placerville area. His band, Gillmor, has made the rounds in Sacramento and throughout Northern California, and also is a musical splash in Southern California, where most of the band members reside.
His "Idol" entry? A song titled "In This Moment."
"I'm a songwriter first and foremost," he told me by phone Tuesday. (FYI: Gillmor also wrote the theme song for the Fox TV show "Unhitched.")
Gillmor, who is an "Idol" fan, missed the deadline to enter the contest last year. But there was no fooling around for Season 7.
"I thought last year's song was good, and I really feel strongly about my song," he says. "I get butterflies thinking about it. It's such a huge opportunity for the winner. It's something that comes around once in a lifetime."
Gillmor got the good news last week (while at Disneyland, no less) that his song made the cut -- out of tens of thousands of entries.
Now it's Sactown's chance to give back to this talented musician.
To hear Gillmor's song (and the other finalists) and vote, go to www.americanidol.com. The songs aren't listed by artist, but as you go through them, the titles will pop up. Voting ends April 23.
In addition to having the winning song performed on the show's finale, the winning songwriter will earn a publishing deal -- and the song will be released by this year's winner.
By Leigh Grogan - lgrogan@sacbee.com
