The young, singing Kates from St. Ignace, Kate Springsteen and Katlyn Frosland, discovered tough, multi-talented competition when they made their California sojourn for the FAMEUS national finals last month. They also brought back new experiences and lessons for the future.

They sang Tuesday, August 9, at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Miss Springsteen placed third in the jazz vocal category. She had qualified at a regional competition in Chicago in May and Miss Frosland qualified at a regional event in Detroit a week earlier.

Miss Springsteen, 16 and soon to be a LaSalle senior, was there with her mother and father, Betty and Mike Springsteen. To compete at the higher level, she added significant stage movement with a thematic costume, building on her experience at a similar event last year in Las Vegas.

The competition in Hollywood, however, was tougher.

“I thought it went really well,” said Miss Springsteen. “My first song, [“Come Rain or Come Shine”] could have been better, but the second one [“Blues in the Night”] went really well.

“I kind of felt like I should have placed higher,” she added.

Miss Frosland agreed about the level of talent.

“It was so tough and there were so many tough competitors,” she said. “The first-place person from Detroit didn’t even place here. I sang my hardest and felt really good about it. I felt like I accomplished something.”

She performed Jessica Simpson’s “Angels,” and found the judging was about much more than the singing.

“It’s not about your voice, but about your performance,” she said.

Wendy Frosland, her mother, concurred.

“Katlyn did wonderfully, as far as her vocals, but a lot of these kids, you can tell they’ve really been schooled in stage presence and choreography, which we haven’t. When they called out the names, Katlyn just said she was very honored to just make it out here.

“It was very fast-paced and there were a lot of talented kids out there,” she added. “We registered at 7:30 a.m. and didn’t get out of there until 11 p.m., so that shows you how many there were.”

The two were joined by Mrs. Frosland’s fiancée, Ron Mink, and Katlyn’s friend, Stephanie Damron, in California. They were surprised that Hollywood isn’t nicer or cleaner, but were enchanted by the Magic Kingdom, having never been to Disneyland, or even out of the state before.

Miss Springsteen also appreciated the chance to see new people, places, and things.

“It was a lot of fun. We saw the Hollywood Walk of Fame and went to the Santa Monica beach,” she said.

She met the event hosts, Debbie Allen and Raven, while attending a gala the day after the main contest. Mrs. Allen starred in and choreographed “Fame,” both the original 1979 film and the 1982 television series. In each, young people were inspired by their peers toward higher levels of performance excellence. At the FAMEUS National Finals, it was the same.

“I thought it was a great experience,” said Mrs. Springsteen. “When you are around that kind of talent, it ignites your enthusiasm and your own talent, and you can go from there.

“To say there was a lot of variety there would be an understatement, even with the entrance and exit styles” to and from the stage. “You are on a different court out there. Just like the [St. Ignace] girls basketball team when they advanced through to the finals.”

Mrs. Springsteen could see a clear difference between her daughter’s showing last year in Las Vegas and this year.

“Her ease in performance, that’s where she really grew,” Mrs. Springsteen said. “Last year, she did a nice job, but here she had the movement and the stage presence. She’s improved so much. When you’re part of things like this, you can really grow,”

She also had praise for Miss Frosland’s efforts. “Getting up there after seeing the things all of the other kids had done builds courage,” she said. “Katlyn did it beautifully.”

Neither Kate is content with stopping now, and each is looking forward to the next opportunity to perform.

“I can’t wait to go somewhere else and perform again,” said Miss Springsteen.

“It was well worth it,” said Mrs. Frosland. “Katlyn is already talking about wanting to go next year.”