By Sheila Corson
Chronicle staff

     Omak-born Scott Smith has kept himself busy promoting his country music career, and said he recently entered two online contests to bolster his chances at making it big.
     Smith has performed at the Omak Stampede and Okanogan County fair, often with the band SRO. He also performs in other places, mostly in the Northwest.
     One big performance for him was opening for the 2008 Grammy-nominated country group Emerson Drive earlier this year, he said.
     "This last year has been the best year so far for me," Smith said, adding that was because he was able to get some of his original songs put together.
     One, "Caving In," was submitted to the FameCast online contest and CMT's Music City Madness online contest. This past year, Smith said he flew to Los Angeles to film the video for the song, which he debuted at the Okanogan Valley Nashville Country Star competition.
     On the way to forming those original songs, Smith said he has met with some big names in the industry. He worked with Bud Brewer, a guitarist and former member of Willie Nelson's band in the 1970s and '80s, and pianist Jim Nyby to put "Caving In" together over about a one-week period in March.
     "It was really strange to see it come to life," Smith said. "I remember sitting there in tears as they played the guitar and the piano together without me singing for the first time."
     They then worked with Henpro Studios, Federal Way, and on a short deadline finished the product. The next day, he flew California to shoot the video, he said.
     "The director/editor, Nick Lentz, is a Washington native as well, living in the L.A. area," Smith said. "He recently just won a Tacoma Film Festival event with some of his latest work."
     "The director of photography, Chris Whiteneck, is very credited as well with his camera work on the hit TV Shows 'Dirty Jobs,' 'Deadliest Catch' and 'Critter Gitters,' to name a few," Smith added.
     "I couldn't have asked for anything more," Smith said. "I really got a finished product that is professional and is TV ready."
     That video was required to enter the online contests.
     Smith found out last week that he won the FameCast monthly contest, and will compete through November for the top prize.
     As the monthly winner, Smith will be featured in SPIN magazine and will compete against the other monthly winners for $20,000 and the title of FameCast Fenom, according to the contest Web site.
     Top artists can score various gigs along the way as well, according to the Web site. Possibilities include Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival, SPIN's Ruby Concert Series in L.A. and more.
     FameCast's goal is to help independent artists who "have what it takes, but have lacked the breaks," according to the site.
     On CMT.com, the Music City Madness competition is in its first stage. Smith submitted his video entry and CMT.com selected 64 artists to push forward.
     The competition progresses tournament style, with artists going head to head. CMT.com visitors can vote for their favorite in a match-up, and the biggest vote-getter advances to the next round until the final fifth stage.
     As of Oct. 30, Smith was behind about 64 percent to 36 percent. He said a huge fan base for his competition recently starting getting the votes in, and now he needs his base of friends, family and fans to help him out.
     The grand prize winner of CMT.com's Music City Madness will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Nashville to record an episode of the CMT online series "Unplugged," a private audition with Warner Bros. Records and a mentoring session with country superstar Randy Travis.
     The eight-week competition will end in mid-December, with the winner announced Dec. 16.
     Smith said he plans on meeting with some people Nashville about his music.
     But he doesn't travel alone - Smith said his older sister, Jill Scott, who co-owns Sisters in Omak, will travel with him for the week-long trip. His music is available in her store on Main Street.
     Contests are at www.cmt.com/interact/music_city_madness/vote and www.famecast.com, which requires registration.
     More information is at www.scottsmithcountry.com or www.myspace.com/promotingscottsmith.