BROCKPORT- The mellow sounds of Chris Wilson's love songs are a stark contrast to the predominantly rap and R&B sounds of the MTV show The Cut.

    But in spite of that, or maybe because of it, the 22-year old Brockport native left that show--a 90's-style type of Star Search--earlier this month packing a second-place title, the viewer's choice award, and several major record label offers.

    At times, it can be a little overwhelming for the young singer/songwriter who moved to Los Angeles just five months ago in pursuit of a dream.

    "Life couldn't get any better," Wilson said. "It's hard to believe it's real."

    Music has been a passion for Wilson for as long as he can remember. When he was 4, he asked his mom, Mallie Goeller, if he could play the guitar. She told him he was still too small to handle th fairly large instrument.

    So Goeller, a musician herself, taught her son to play the violin. Then, when he was in fourth or fifth grade, he asked about the guitar again. Still a little small, was his mom's reply. That year in school, he learned to play the trumpet.

    Finally, in eighth grade, he got his coveted guitar. He became almost immediately proficient with some John Denver songs, and he says he found his calling.<p>Years and may successes later, he credits his family support with his good fortune.

    "My folks are beside themselves," he said. "They always felt I had something spedial. They never pushed me to become a doctor...or something I didn't want to be. That's what makes my parents special."

    His longtime friend and now-agent, Stephen Marsh, said Wilson has the stuff that careers are made of.

    "He's an artist in every sense of the word," Marsh said. Wilson, who describes his musical style as somewhere between Paul Simon and Sarah McLachlan, has introduced that creativity into everything he does. He even performed at a Brockport Pizza Hut while working there.

    He packed them in.

    "The next thing he knew, he was singing in all the Pizza Huts in the Rochester area," Marsh said, laughing.

    After Pizza Hut and a stint as a vacuum cleaner salesman--sandwiched between local gigs--Wilson decided he wanted to pursue his music full time.

    "I just packed my bags and decided to go," he said. He moved to L.A., sent out a promotional disc, and about a month later, MTV called. They loved "The Way That She Loves Me," a song he wrote for his girlfriend, who lives in Hamlin.

    "I keep rolling into these wonderful things," Wilson said.

Marsh said he'll be proud to brag that he "knew Chris when..."

    "James Taylor is phenomenal as a performer," Marsh said. "He sells a million copies of every record he puts out. Chris will be that kind of artist."

This article originally appeared in a December 1998 issue of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. If there is any problem with copying it on this site, e-mail me and I will remove it.