BELLE FOURCHE—All summer long, Belle Fourche has been home to some of the best karaoke talent in the area. One weekend each month, the Outlaw Bar and Pass the Mike Entertainment have paired up to host the official Talent Quest International Karaoke Championship qualifying rounds.
Serious competitors have been showing up each month for a chance to win an all-expense-paid trip to Fort Worth, Texas, and represent South Dakota at the 25th Annual Talent Quest International Karaoke Championship in October. The Outlaw Bar in Belle Fourche is the only place in South Dakota to compete for a chance to represent the state at the International Finals.
The final competition of the summer was held Saturday, August 22, with the semifinals held the night before on Friday, August 21. Two winners from each of the previous competitions held throughout the summer, April 24 and 25, May 15 and 16, June 19 and 20, and July 17 and 18, were all invited back to the Outlaw Bar to take the stage and put on their best performance.
After two nights of tough competition, one singer came out on top. Misty Isenberg of Belle Fourche was crowned this year’s South Dakota representative at the Talent Quest International Karaoke Championship. “Misty just rocked the house! She sang “Ex’s & Oh’s” by Elle King and “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman—and she nailed it. She entertained the crowd, she walked around—she just knew how to work a crowd and keep them going throughout both of her songs,” explained Michael Meemken of Pass the Mike Entertainment.
Winning brings with it a lot of perks. “Misty is getting an all-expense-paid trip to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in October at Talent Quest International,” explained Meemken. “It is seven nights and she gets her flight to Texas. She is going to be staying at the hotel down there where the event is held. And then she’ll also get $500 in spending money. The package is a value of about $2,500 with the registration fees, hotel, airfare and everything.”
Runner-up in the competition was Kendra Sinkey of Belle Fourche. “Kendra took second and she sang “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain and “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles,” shared Meemken.
The finals competition had three judges. They were Kat Wilt from Freeborn Entertainment, Michaela Horn, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Camie Horgeshimer. They were scored in five different categories. “So they get points for how they entertain the crowd—their show, song selection, stage presentation, vocal performance, audience reaction and judges’ opinion,” said Meemken.
Watch for Misty to compete at the finals held at the Radisson Hotel Fort Worth North-Fossil Creek in Fort Worth, Texas, Oct. 4-11, 2026. Approximately $200,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded at the finals. “She’s been a musician for quite some time, as far as being in local bands and I think she could do really good down there at Talent Quest. She’ll be competing against people from across the world … it’s like watching a Broadway performance, I mean they’re all dressed up, they’ve got the flashy outfits, and it’s really cool—I have a lot of confidence in Misty and her doing really well down there,” said Meemken.
If you enjoy singing and performing, make sure you watch for the new season of the Talent Quest Karaoke competition coming up in Belle Fourche in the spring of 2027. Everyone has a chance to win—all you have to do is sign up.
The Outlaw Bar is the event’s sponsor. “We plan on doing this every year—I think as we continue to do it, it’ll get bigger and bigger,” shared Meemken. “We drew a huge crowd for the finals this year! Thank you to Rhonda (Schild) for letting us put this on every year with Pass the Mike Entertainment.”
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