WSRZ-FM (107.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies/classic hits format. Licensed to Coral Cove, Florida, USA, the station serves the Sarasota area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications.

History[link]

As an oldies station, WSRZ was originally located at 106.5 MHz, known as 'Oldies 106' and played music from the 1950s to the early '70s. Weekend specialty programming included street corner harmony "Doo Wop". In 1999, a major shift was done among Clear Channel stations, with Country WCTQ (92 CTQ) moving to the superior 106.5 position, WSRZ moving to the slightly smaller 107.9 position, and the hard rocker WYNF moving from 107.9 to the newly created (and much lower powered) 105.9. 92.1 adopted an easy listening format as the Dove.

At 107.9, WSRZ-FM was originally known as "Oldies 108" and played an oldies format, continuing to focus on music from the 1950s through the early 1970s. In early 2007, the moniker was changed to the present "107.9 WSRZ", dropping music from the 1950s and early 1960s; currently focusing on music from the mid 1960s through the early 1980s.^[1]

Currently there are no live shows on 107.9 except the Morning Crew with Jones & Crane. All other shows are voice tracked.

The Jones and Crane Show[link]

The Jones and Crane Morning Show is a weekday radio show that features David Jones, Who also does commercials for Kinetico Water and Heating around the Sarasota area, and Christina Crane. They have been serving the area for 20 Years. They will hit the 20 year mark in 2015. Their Logo closely resembles the Live! with Kelly logo. Their logo was designed after the Live! with Kelly.

References[link]

1. ^ WSRZ Playlist

External links[link]

• Query the FCC's FM station database for WSRZ
• Radio-Locator information on WSRZ
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WSRZ

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Syesha Mercado
Mercado in the American Idol Experience motorcade at Walt Disney World.
Background information
Birth name	Syesha Raquel Mercado
Born	(1987-01-02) January 2, 1987 (age 25) Bridgeport, Connecticut
Origin	Sarasota, Florida, United States
Genres	R&B, soul, pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress, model
Years active	2006–present
Website	www.SyeshaOnline.com

Syesha Raquel Mercado (born January 2, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and model. Mercado was the third place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, Mercado was on The One: Making a Music Star and she won Florida Super Singer. Her musical influences are Whitney Houston, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Zap Mama, Lauryn Hill, and Aretha Franklin.^[1]

On June 25, 2009, it was officially confirmed that Mercado landed the lead role of Deena Jones in the United States national tour of Dreamgirls.^[2] The tour began at the Apollo Theater on November 7, 2009.^[3]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Mercado was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on January 2, 1987^[4] Her mother Zelda, a former Motown backup singer, is African-American and her father, José, is of Puerto Rican descent.^[5] Mercado grew up in Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida. She attended Booker High School for Visual and Performings Arts Theatre Program and Graduated with a Certificiate as a Performance Major in Sarasota, Florida where she appeared in various Productions. At the 2005 Florida Theatre Conference and the 2005 South Eastern Theater Conference, Mercado won "Best Supporting Actress" for her role as the Sour Kangaroo in Seussical the Musical.^[6] Mercado also appeared as a contestant on the failed ABC talent show, The One: Making a Music Star in summer 2006.^[7]

Education[link]

Mercado attended Daughtrey Elementary School and Manatee School for the Arts both in Manatee County.^[8] Dreaming to become a gospel singer one day, Mercado signed a contract at age nine with the Take Stock in Children initiative, a scholarship program for "low-income families who show potential for college but are unlikely to be able to afford a higher education."^[8] Mercado graduated from Booker High School in 2005, where she was in the Theater VPA (Visual and Performing Arts) department.^[9] She currently attends Florida International University in Miami, Florida.

Personal life[link]

Mercado is engaged to actor-producer and Florida International University classmate Hess Wesley,^[10][11] and is best friends with former idol contestant Ramiele Malubay.

[edit] The One: Making a Music Star

^[12]

This section requires expansion.

Performances/results[link]

• ^Note A : The show was canceled after Top 10 week.

[edit] Florida Super Singer

^[13]

This section requires expansion.

Performances/results[link]

• ^Note A : Based on 3 Judges, text message and internet votes. 2,000,000 in total

[edit] American Idol

Overview[link]

This section requires expansion.

She auditioned for American Idol Season 7 in Miami, Florida singing "Think" by Aretha Franklin where she made it to Hollywood with all three judges saying 'yes'.^[14] When she arrived in Hollywood she had lost her voice and insisted on going on vocal rest. She was seen communicating through paper and pen to the camera throughout the week.^[15] She sang "Chain of Fools" and was accepted into the top 24.^[16] She was the only female in the top 3 and was voted off on May 14 allowing fellow contestants David Archuleta and David Cook a chance to compete in the finale and joining Kimberley Locke as the female contestants to get voted off in the top 3 to allow two male contestants to compete in the finale.

Despite good reviews from the judges, Mercado had been in the bottom three or two five times without being voted off, tying up with season one fellow 3rd place finalist, Nikki McKibbin, for the most weeks spent in the bottom three or two. Some commentators, including American Idol judge Simon Cowell, believed her style was more suited for Broadway than pop music.^[17]

Performances/results[link]

• ^Note 1 : Mercado was saved first from elimination.
• ^Note 2 : When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Mercado was among the Bottom 3 but declared safe second, as the remaining contestant was eliminated.
• ^Note 3 : When revealing the results, Seacrest simultaneously declared Mercado and Carly Smithson safe.
• ^Note 4 : Though Mercado was the last contestant to be declared safe this week, there was never a mention of a Bottom 2.

[edit] Post-Idol career

Mercado signing autographs during the American Idols Live! Tour 2008.

After her elimination, Mercado appeared on Live with Regis and Kelly, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet and WSVN's Deco Drive.

Also, the week following the grand finale, Syesha sold a total of 18,000 legal downloads from iTunes.^{[citation needed]}

She completed the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008 which ran from July 1, 2008 to September 13, 2008. The songs she performed on the tour were "Umbrella" by Rihanna, "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, and "Listen" by Beyoncé.

In November 2008, she performed "One Rock and Roll Too Many" in the 6abc IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade.

She was the guest host of the WSVN 7 yacht at the 37th annual Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat parade on December 13, 2008.

She sang the National Anthem for the Miami Dolphins vs the San Francisco 49ers on Fox on December 14, 2008.

On December 20, 2008 she assisted the Habitat for Humanity in building homes for struggling families in Miramar, Florida.

In February 2009, she participated in the opening of the American Idol Experience attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney World Resort.

On February 19, 2009, Mercado performed in her first live concert after the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008. It was her own concert where all the proceeds went to benefit the Amer-I-Can program, a gang-prevention program started by NFL great, Jim Brown. She performed 8 songs in front of a sold out audience of about 4000 fans ranging from ages 2 to 83.

She sang the National Anthem for the opening day baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 6, 2009.

She is currently working on an album in Los Angeles. She has stated that it is to be a Pop/R&B album. In addition to working on the album, in her free time she is taking acting lessons.

It was officially confirmed on June 25, 2009 that Mercado landed the lead role of Deena Jones in the upcoming United States national tour of Dreamgirls. On November 4, 2009, Mercado appeared on The Wendy Williams Show^[18] to promote the tour which began on November 7, 2009. The tour ended on December 29, 2010.

Mercado will be releasing her first self-titled EP Syesha in August 2011, with the first single "Rock’d Up" being released in June.^[19] She also acted in her first film Dreams in 2011.^[19]

Mercado is set to star as Ti Moune in the revival of Once on This Island to be mounted at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey: scheduled opening night is May 30, 2012 with a projected run through June 24, 2012.^[20]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Syesha Mercado

• Official Website
• Syesha Mercado at the Internet Movie Database
• Unofficial Website
• Syesha Mercado at MySpace
• Syesha Mercado at Twitter
• Syesha Mercado at TV.com
• Syesha Mercado at American Idol
• All Things Syesha Mercado from her hometown newspaper

Press[link]

• Dave Ross. MyNorthwest.com Interview (April 7, 2010)