Shinbur Valarie Britton Shinbur of Lafayette, formerly of Delphi, will compete in a national karaoke contest through Karaoke World Championships USA (KWCUSA).

She qualified for the national competition by advancing through the local, state and regional levels.

The nationals will be held at King's Island in Cincinnati, Ohio, this weekend. Shinbur is one of 40 contestants who have made it this far in the competition.

Winners of the national contest will advance to the world championships in Finland Sept. 11 and 12.

KWCUSA is the only organization in the United States affiliated with the Karaoke World Championships organization. Its champions exclusively represent the United States in the only international karaoke competition.

In 2007, the first year that KWCUSA competed, it had two top 10 international winners, including silver.

All levels of the competition are open to amateur singers only, ages 18 and older. There are men's and women's categories.

Judges are professionals in the music business. Judging is based on voice quality, rhythm and tempo, vocal expression, stage presence, and entertainment value.

At the world champ ionships, one man and one woman will earn the title of "World Champion of Karaoke 2009.

Venues for the various levels of competition include bar/restaurants, colleges and universities, malls, fairs, and others.

Shinbur is a frequent winner of the weekly karaoke contests at Cox's Pub in Lafayette. This year's local and state levels of the KWCUSA competition were both held at the Lafayette pub.

Shinbur is the daughter of Mark and Tracy Houchin of Delphi and Ted and Annette Britton of Battle Ground. She attended Delphi Community High School through her junior year, and then graduated from high school in Houston, Texas, in 2001.

She would like to become a professional singer.