One of the unique things about the Elvis Tribute Artist (ETA) world is the ubiquity and importance of competitions. No other community of tribute artists or tribute bands has generated anywhere near the number of local, regional, national and worldwide competitions as the “ETA World”.
There are two important worldwide ETA competitions — the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest and the Images of the King Contest. Both contests award a title to the winner, and financial compensation to both the winner and the top 3–5 finishers.
Leading up to the Images of the King and the Ultimate semi-final and final competitions, ETAs compete throughout the year in qualifier contests held around the world that provide the winners with an entry into the finals. These competitions usually bestow a championship title (e.g., “King of the Smoky Mountains”) and a financial reward to the winner.
Finally, there are an unknown number of local and regional contests unaffiliated with either the Images or the Ultimate programs that also give out awards and, often, cash prizes.
Through these local and regional contests, a large number of professional (and non-professional) ETAs can claim to be “award-winning”, an attribute that can help their careers.
Rewards of Competing
The first place cash prize in the Ultimate competition is $20,000, which of course is more than the cost of competing, but the second and third place prizes are relatively small (second place in 2024 is $3,000 and third place is $2,000). The top prize in the Professional division in the Images of the King contest is only $2,000, with smaller prizes for those finishing in 2nd through 5th place.
Outside of the Ultimate competition, the cash prize received for winning (or finishing in the top tier) isn’t enough for most competitors to cover the costs associated with participating (i.e., travel costs and entry fees). There are usually other non-cash prizes, including trophies and discounts on jumpsuits, but even the top finishers in most contests will barely break even, and the vast majority of competitors, of course, will win no prize at all.
“The early days was tough. I never could afford the host hotel. I’d have to stay somewhere else. And then you’re just, you’re so stressed out by going to a contest and you’re not making money. You’re gambling essentially. And man, that got stressful in those early days. Take the contests for what they really truly are, and that’s getting your name out there, getting your picture out there, and to hopefully get yourself secured with some sort of bookings in the future. That’s all it’s for. And to have fun and honor Elvis — that’s really, truly all it’s supposed to be about.”
David Allen, ETA
These competitions are important to ETAs and their fans for reasons beyond awarding titles and financial prizes. The prize for all who enter is the opportunity to make a name for themselves, gain valuable performance experience, and enjoy the camaraderie of other ETAs. They also provide opportunities to network with others in the ETA world, including fans, promoters and other industry professionals.
“And introducing…”
Contests provide an important point of entry into the ETA world for newcomers. New or aspiring ETAs get the opportunity to perform in front of larger audiences than they would be able to generate on their own at the beginning stage of their careers, and in more “formal” venues. It gives them exposure and helps them achieve some name recognition among both fans and promoters.
Contests provide these new ETAs with valuable experience, including the opportunity to perform with a live band rather than just with recorded backing tracks. And it provides an opportunity for newcomers to meet, network with, and learn from more established ETAs.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to put yourself on stages all across the country and parts of the world, perform for all the fans, build new fan bases, market yourself, and get to, of course, spend time with your buddies and your pals and just support each other and cheer each other on.”
Riley Jenkins, ETA
“I tell the young guys this. I tell them to get in any contest you can. Even if it’s down the street at the ‘apple butter festival’ having an Elvis contest, go do it. The thing that happens when you get out there and compete, first of all, you gain confidence of being on stage if you’re a newcomer, and you gain a following. And you gain a camaraderie of the other guys. You learn how to navigate through this Elvis ETA world, and you learn tips from some of the older guys. Even if you don’t win, there’s nothing bad that can come out of competing if you’re a young up-and-coming ETA.”
Dwight Icenhower, ETA
In this way, the ETA contest/competition circuit helps to ensure that the ETA business will last far into the future by constantly expanding the pool of ETA performers who are helping to keep the legacy and music of Elvis alive for generations to come.
ETA and Fans “Family Reunion”
All competitions, much like Elvis festivals, provide an opportunity for ETAs who rarely get to see each other to meet, hug, share stories, and reinforce the sense that the ETA world is a family. Almost all of the ETAs interviewed for the Echoes of Elvis book mentioned this when discussing competitions, and the competitions expand that opportunity to ETAs who have not yet been invited to perform or headline at concerts or festivals.
That feeling of family goes beyond the “brotherhood” often spoken about publicly, with many ETAs saying that competitions feel like big family reunions. And the family reunion goes beyond just the ETAs themselves. It includes fans, especially devoted ETA fans, who only get to see each other (and the ETAs they love) face to face at a competition or a festival.
“For me, it’s not just about the competitions, but it is also about trying to meet as many Elvis fans as you can and as many friends, and making new friends, and meeting great ETAs, stuff like that. Whenever I go to, for example, a competition in Europe or UK, more and more people know who I am.”
Brian Troy, ETA from Denmark
“I think it’s because you see the Elvis family, you know what I mean? You reconnect to people that you don’t see a lot. It’s like a family reunion. It really is.”
Jimmy “Elvis” Tighe, ETA
It’s Not All Peaches and Cream
As would be the case with any competition, ETA contests can have some less pleasant aspects. Inevitably, when there is a competition where the judging is subjective, there can be hard feelings when an ETA who has put his full heart and soul into preparing for the contest does not win.
“I don’t consider it a loss because you gain so much more with camaraderie with other Elvis tribute artists and the fans and everything. So you go home happy whether you win or lose, or at least I do. I’ve seen guys throw fits and stuff because they thought they should have won. I’ve confronted a few guys that acted inappropriately backstage.”
E-Rock, ETA
The vast majority of ETAs accept the results of a contest with equanimity, and are proud when they finish in the top 10 or the top 5, but concerns about a contest not being fair are not uncommon. Issues can arise around who is selected to judge the competitions, both in terms of their qualifications and in terms of their perceived impartiality.
Often it is the fans, rather than the ETAs themselves, that object the loudest when the ETA they are championing does not win, and on rare occasions fans have been known to “boo” when a winner other than their favorite ETA is announced.
There are also those in the ETA world who believe that the competitions themselves have become too constant and too important, overshadowing the non-competitive concerts and festivals. One ETA interviewed objected to ETAs who only perform in competitions and don’t perform in shows, since it can be argued that competitions aren’t as effective in achieving the over-arching goal of spreading and preserving Elvis’s legacy.
On Balance
On balance, the benefits of these ETA competitions far outweigh the negatives that sometimes crop up — for the fans, for the ETAs, and for the mission of keeping Elvis’s music and legacy alive. They are an integral part of this fascinating world, and a bit of the “glue” that binds the ETA and fan communities together.
If nothing else, the publicity generated by the competitions also publicizes the existence of the ETA world to new fans who might not otherwise have known that this world even existed. These new fans are essential if the ETA world is to continue once the original “core” fan audience has passed on.
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