COB Basra – Spc. Russell Dudley waited as the judges tallied up their scores. For three weeks, he had sung for Basra Idol, a music competition for service members in Basra that featured such surprises as last minute walk-on contestants, previously eliminated contestants coming back and even a contestant taking off his shirt to reveal a Superman T-shirt. The final round on May 30 followed suit, when Dudley, eliminated in the second round, was chosen to become eligible for the title with Sgt. Joe Roos, Sgt. LeFena Washington, and Spc. Cleon Shack, who had been eliminated in the first round.
Now the four stood on stage, hopeful.
“And the winner is…Russell Dudley!”
The three judges and two secret guest judges chose Spc. Russell Dudley, a mechanic with the 178th Military Police Company, after his performance of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “My Girl” by the Four Tops.
After singing acapella through a few verses of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”, Dudley held nothing back as he tore through “My Girl.” When he sang that he “…didn’t need no money, no fortune or fame…”, he pulled out a roll of dollars and threw them out into the crowd. When he sang “…talking about my girl, my girl, my girl,” he pointed to cheering girls in the crowd as the song ended.
Roos clapped and shook Dudley’s hand. While disappointed that he did not win, Roos recognized a performer when he saw one.
“It was a bummer I didn’t win,” said Roos, a St. Paul, Minn., native, “but I have to respect the great showmanship of Dudley. He did exactly what he needed to do, and you could tell by the crowd’s response.”
