RAYMOND – When he’s not studying for a communications degree at University of Southern Maine or flipping burgers at the McDonald’s in North Windham, Anthony Dighello is busy creating music.

Now the Raymond native is hoping his talent pays off, to the tune of $25,000 up for grabs in the international Voice of McDonald’s talent contest.

Dighello, a 2010 Windham High School grad, already has won the contest’s Boston-area district and is one of 22 semi-finalists vying for three all-expense-paid trips to Orlando for the international competition early next year.

The competition is similar to “American Idol” in that winners are determined based on public votes as well as contest judges. But Dighello is already telling his family and friends to log onto the contest’s website (http://vom.mcdonalds.com) to vote starting Oct. 7. Voting ends Nov. 1. The singer with the most online votes will qualify for the international competition.

“We’re telling everyone we know because we’re probably going to need as many votes as humanly possible to get anywhere,” Dighello said. “We should know in December if we qualified.”

Dighello is modest. His band’s low-key, heavy-on-strings, alternative-style music, which can be heard on the band’s Facebook page, has already received praise from local radio station DJs, Dighello’s coworkers and a vocal coach provided by McDonald’s.

“People at work were kind of amazed when they heard it. I think they were kind of surprised, since I never really talked about my music. So that was cool,” Dighello said, adding that the McDonald’s vocal coach said his voice was “quirky” in a good, distinct way similar in sound to Billy Corgan, lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins.

Dighello, who’s also noted for his guitar-picking abilities, has been playing guitar since age 11, and with the help of his uncle and friends he has developed his vocal and song-making abilities as well, both of which he’s showing off for the McDonald’s contest.

“There was a poster in the break room a couple months ago,” Dighello said before a band practice Monday at the Windham home of fellow band member Sam McFarland. “Everybody was joking about doing it or not, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking I should probably look into it, and I did.”

McFarland, who plays keyboards and is a fellow 2010 Windham grad and USM student, and Dighello’s uncle, Todd Dighello, of Gray, got serious about their band, Reinventing Alive, a few years ago and have recorded about 14 original songs so far. They’ve played in front of crowds several times, including at fundraising events and a competition at Hebron Academy. But playing live is still a “little scary” for the fledgling band.

For the first round of the McDonald’s competition, Dighello was required to cover a song, so the band chose “Apologize” by One Republic, a song Dighello says resembles their own sound. For the next round, which commences Oct. 7, the band is hoping to play an original, “What We Were Meant For.” If contest judges don’t allow the original recording, plan B is to cover “Easy,” by Lionel Ritchie.

Dighello and his band mates have honed their sound over the years and are hoping their original sound separates them from the competition. Dighello is optimistic the future is bright, and that the McDonald’s contest is his to win. But he and the band aren’t getting ahead of themselves.

The wave so far has provided a good ride. Dighello appeared on Q97.9 FM in Portland last week when he earned one of the 22 semi-finalist spots in the McDonald’s national competition. The band’s original song, “Today,” was played after a six-minute interview. Dighello and the band were also featured on Channel 8 news, as well.

“We look at it like we’re surfing, and we’re trying to ride this wave,” Dighello said, “and we’re going to ride this wave as long as we can before the swell ends and we’re back to the beach.”

After the first round of competition, Anthony Dighello, a North
Windham McDonald’s employee, has qualified as one of 22 Americans
who are vying for the third annual Voice of McDonald’s contest, an
international singing competition similar to “American Idol” but
open only to the restaurant chain’s 3 million employees. Dighello,
of Raymond, won the Boston region with his cover of One Republic’s
“Apologize.” (Staff photo by John Balentine)
With Anthony Dighello on vocals, above, and guitar, below, his
uncle Todd Dighello on bass, right, and Sam McFarland on keyboards,
Reinventing Alive is an alternative band trying to make a name for
itself. Anthony Dighello is doing his best to get the band’s music
into the ears of new fans with his entry into the Voice of
McDonald’s international singing contest.  (Courtesy photo)

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