Tony Sweet, Grenola, Kansas

[Janet Harrington]

It appears that our David Oakleaf is not the only one who is making big moves in the music business.  See the article below about Tonyi Sweet originally from Grenola, Kansas. 

4/16/2008 12:31:00 PM  From the Winfield Courier


A Sweet Dream
Grenola native is a finalist in Gospel Music Channel competition

By ROY GRABER
Managing Editor

Tony Sweet is a Central High School graduate who works as a personal trainer to the stars.

After tasting success in the early stages of the Gospel Music Channel's "Gospel Dream," Sweet may become a star himself.

Sweet, a native of Grenola now living in Los Angeles, auditioned in late March at an L.A. tryout for "Gospel Dream," a gospel music equivalent of the television phenomenon "American Idol."

Now he finds himself set to compete against 14 other contestants - including one relative - for a record contract.

Sweet is savoring his shot at stardom, which does not come easily in an industry that puts so much emphasis on youth.

"Being 38 years old, this kind of seemed like it would be my last chance," said Sweet. "This is an opportunity. A door opened up to me, and it was like God was saying, 'Here you go; go for it.'"

Sweet, who describes himself as a non-denominational Christian, grew up as part of a spiritually-oriented and musically-inclined family. In his younger years, however, he didn't pursue music as much as he would have liked.

"I was always the shy one," Sweet said in a recent telephone interview.

Instead, during high school, Sweet put more of his focus on athletics. He excelled in multiple sports. He won a state championship in the shot put and also was a member of Central's 1987 state championship football team.

Sweet continued his track career at Hutchinson Community College, earning All-American honors.

He transferred to Wichita State University, where he pursued a communications degree. It was there that he also started to come out of his shell and pursued music while singing at church.

While at WSU, Sweet also got involved in the fitness industry, working part-time as a trainer.

Always interested in Christian music, Sweet frequently attended Christian concerts while living in Kansas. And although he said that type of concert is not as prevalent in California, "I still try to go as much as I can."

Watching others perform made Sweet think how much he would like to be a professional Christian musician himself.

"I just thought, 'Wow! This is what I want to do,'" Sweet said.

Sweet recently learned about the past season of Gospel Dream, and "thought that would be fun to try."

After he found out the Gospel Music Channel was going for another season, he decided to audition.

But Sweet wasn't the only member of his family who took that path.

His nephew, Kyle Peres, also tried out.

Peres, who grew up in Emporia, had earlier auditioned for American Idol in Omaha.

While Peres was eventually turned down by Idol judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, Sweet said, he was given approval by Simon Cowell, who oddly enough is normally the most critical of the three.

At the Los Angeles Gospel Dream auditions, Sweet and Peres were the only two males in the top 10 finalists.

When it came down to the final pick, the judges named Sweet the winner.

Sweet may have been thrilled with the win, but he was also saddened that his nephew did not make the cut. Sweet knew Peres had the talent, however, and encouraged him to audition again in Phoenix.

Peres took his advice. He won the Phoenix competition and will also be moving on to compete for the record contract.

Sweet occasionally still sees himself as a shy boy, but with more wisdom, he knows that he can help other people through his gifts as a musician. And with the help of a vocal coach who is best known for his work with The Imperials, Sweet is as confident as ever in his singing abilities.

"God gives you gifts, and you should try to use them," he said.

Sweet could sing any style of music, but he views this as not only an opportunity to entertain, but also to minister to others.

"I could sing any genre I want, but this is heartfelt. The songs you sing can influence people in a good way, whereas with other forms of music, it could influence people in a negative way," he said.

Sweet may be outdone by his nephew in the Gospel Dream competition. But the two occasionally sing together, and Sweet said there are good possibilities that they may collaborate in the future.

"We started putting a duo together, and we harmonize amazingly. People would pay for that kind of harmony," said Sweet.

Sweet sings baritone and Peres sings tenor.

But no matter who wins the Gospel Dream, Sweet knows the outcome will be of God's choosing.

"I totally believe in God's wisdom," he said.

(If you want to keep track of what Tony is doing, got to www.grenolaks.com/  This is a site for Grenola, Kansas, created by Tony.)