With the first round of voting complete, Zach McCord is one of four finalists vying for a $15,000 recording session at Dark Horse Recording studio complex in Nashville.

 

The Bridgeport High School alum is very appreciative of the votes and support which has enabled him beat the odds.

 

“Words don't exist in the English language to express how excited I am to have made it to the final round,” he said. “There were 500 entries, 200 made it to the first round and now there are four of us. To be part of the 0.8% left is such a blessing.”

 

McCord - whose contest video features his vocal, guitar and songwriting talents  - hopes the public will continue to back him and bring him through the final round.

 

“All I can really ask is that everyone keep voting daily and get their friends to do the same. If we could get 100 people to send the link to 20 friends a day, we'd pull in 2000 votes daily,” he said. “And who's to say we can't get more than 100 to do that? With just a little help from everyone, this dream could easily become a reality.”

 

The contest is hosted by Dark Horse Institute/Dark Horse Recording, a top learning institute and audio recording studio, producing artists including Faith Hill, Matchbox Twenty, The Fray, Relient K and Tim McGraw, to name a few.

 

A 2009 graduate of Bridgeport High School and music performance major at Valley Forge Christian College, McCord learned about the "Nashville Dream Recording Contest" while doing some Internet surfing. He thereafter entered the Youtube video "Wait" (below), a project of Indie Elephant Production, which precedes other tunes including “Fallen,” “The Recipe,” “Rejoice” and “Better Left Unsaid.” Preliminary voting took place through March 16. The top three vote getters, as well as one wild card contestant, remain in the contest, which ends March 31.

 

At first, attaining the grand prize seemed like a lofty goal, but now that it is within reach, he and his support system – including parents Jay and Kim McCord – are determined to make his musical dream come true.

 

“Coming this far has definitely made the reality of the situation shine a lot brighter to me,” he said. “This could be an absolute life-changer, and how great would it be to put Bridgeport on the map.”

 

The support McCord has received from all over has been incredible, but the support from all over West Virginia has really been overwhelming, he said.

 

“I would love to help establish West Virginia as a state that produces quality musicians, and with the support of the community we can make it happen,” he said.

 

Voting is ongoing through March 31. Supporters can vote daily at http://www.darkhorseinstitute.com/nashville-dream-recording-contest/?am_force_theme_layout=desktop.