This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • Country music star Brad Paisley and Utah singer David Archuleta will be the main acts at Stadium of Fire this year.
The show's producers also announced that there will be an "American Idol" style competition to fill three performing slots at the July 2 show.
"It doesn't matter if you have a musical talent or a novelty act, or [are] a juggler or an actor," said Kendra Lowe, the show's assistant executive producer.
The producers will accept videos of performers at http://www.freedomfestival.org until March 15. There will be public voting on the videos and two live auditions to pick the three who will perform at the stadium. Then, the audience in LaVell Edwards Stadium will vote for the best performer, who will win $10,000.
But the main attraction will be Paisley and Archuleta.
Tickets for the event go on sale on March 4 online and at the Marriott Center ticket office at Brigham Young University. Stadium of Fire is part of America's Freedom Festival at Provo.
Paisley has won three Grammy Awards, 14 Country Music Association Awards and 13 Academy of Country Music Awards. His most recent album is "Hits Alive."
"I'm proud to be invited to celebrate America at Stadium of Fire," Paisley said in a prepared statement read by Carl Bacon, Stadium of Fire's senior executive producer. "We're going to do all we can to make it a night to remember."
Archuleta, who was a runner-up on "American Idol," first performed at Stadium of Fire when he sang the national anthem at age 13.
"It was a real mind-blowing experience," Archuleta said of that experience.
Archuleta recently was dropped by his label, Jive Records, but characterized it as a mutual parting of the ways, saying that Jive had made offers to keep him from leaving.
"I finally realized that this is my life, my career. It is up to me what direction it goes," Archuleta said. "It is something that took me a long time to decide."
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On the Web
O America's Freedom Festival at Provo › freedomfestival.org.