Olivia (Liv) Schiller, is a Cypress sophomore who dreams of being a singer-songwriter. Olivia recently competed at Sugar Shack Showdown, a singing competition that takes place in Downtown Fort Myers with Live audiences each week. The competition is designed to find the best local vocalists. Contestants perform with the venue’s house band, The Sugar Shack Allstars, and the winner gets $2,500.

The competition was five weeks with eight contestants each week. The top two from each week moved on to the semi-finals. Audience votes, with input from the judges, determines the winners. Schiller learned about the competition through Instagram, and she submitted her video singing Hopelessly Devoted to You. As each week went by, Schiller moved on and on into the competition with crowd pleasers like Valerie, Love on Top, and  a showstopping finale performance of Mariah Carey’s Emotions.  Schiller was crowned the very first winner of Sugarshack’s Downtown Showdown, and named the best vocalist in Southwest Florida.

Next on Schiller’s journey to stardom, she will be competing in the second annual Rock the Stage competition in the songwriting category in late November or early December. She was previously crowned the winner of Rock the Stage for her cover performances, but Schiller is very excited to be competing for her songwriting. Schiller said the Cypress community provides her the encouragement she needs to compete. “Everyone here pretty much has similar goals, so it’s really nice to be able to get feedback from my peers and teachers who really help you grow,” said Schiller who added her thanks to her teachers and friends at Cypress for supporting her.