A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Sawyer's Joey Kotiranta wins seventh place in Minnesota Sings
Joey Kotiranta of Sawyer competed in the statewide Minnesota Sings competition, held at the Minneapolis Courtyard Marriott in September. Joey was selected by the Cromwell Area Community Club as the lead contestant after his exciting performance of "Mack the Knife" at the June steak fry and variety show.
Sawyer teenager Joseph Kotiranta may be an accomplished singer now, but there was a time his parents wondered if he would even speak, let alone sing.
Those days are long gone.
Joey's father, Donald Kotiranta, recalled how his son learned to sing, an unusual trajectory.
"When he was a baby, Joey would cry like crazy for an hour or more. We wondered how we could comfort him," Donald said. "I tried rocking him and playing music. One time I said to his mom Kris, 'I heard Joey cry in perfect pitch! There's music in his cry. He's going to be a singer.'"
In kindergarten, Joey heard the Beatles' "Yell...
