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Tupelo’s Elvis Tribute Artists Dominate Graceland Competition
Four Tupelo Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist (UETA) winners earned four out of the top five spots at the Graceland Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Competition during Elvis Week in Memphis, which took place Aug. 8-19.
The Tupelo Elvis Festival was held June 6-10, 2018 where Elvis tribute artists competed to win the title of the UETA, which allows them to compete in Graceland’s competition.
Ben Thompson, who won the 2014 UETA competition, claimed the title of 2018 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist. Diogo Light, Tupelo’s 2015 winner, claimed 2nd place; Cote Deonath, Tupelo’s 2017 winner, claimed 3rd place; and Nick Perkins, Tupelo’s 2018 winner, placed Top 5.
Graceland has hosted 11 competitions where Tupelo winners have claimed six of the Ultimate titles. Tupelo has been represented in the Top 10 or higher every single year —its winners have had a presence in the Top 10, five times; in the Top 5, three times; and in the Top 3, seven times.
Tupelo Elvis Festival held its first Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition in 2007 and is now one of 17 competitions throughout the world to serve as a pre-qualifier for the Ultimate Competition at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.
Graceland announced that the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest will return for 2019 and Elvis tribute artists around the world can compete for their chance to win a spot in the Semifinal Round during Elvis Week 2019.
hottytoddy.com staff report
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | 11:00 AM ABC or ESPN |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | 2:30 PM ESPN or ABC |
Danielle LaBombarde
August 23, 2018 at 12:59 am
The ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist), shown on the cover of this article is the winner of these 2015 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition, David Lee.