MOULTRIE — In the span of a month and a half, a homegrown talent has gone from Moultrie’s Downtown Idol to opening for the queen of country music, Loretta Lynn.

On a last-minute whim, Rhett Knox, 20, of Moultrie entered the Downtown Idol contest held during Spring Fling in April. That win with “Real Good Man” by Tim McGraw boosted his confidence to enter a national competition, the Colgate Country Showdown, that has been the springboard to fame for such notables as LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride, John Michael Montgomery, Neal McCoy and Sara Evans. Lynn, herself, is a past Showdown host, the competition’s Web site said.

Knox won over eight other contestants Wednesday at a preliminary competition held at Rascals in Lake Park, Ga., and on June 11 will sing against three competitors at Wild Adventures in Valdosta before a panel of judges. The winner from that will go on to Perry for the state competition and then Nashville, Tenn., for finals, Knox said.

Regardless of how far he gets in the Showdown, performing before one of the greats can’t hurt.

“It’s unexplainable. I wouldn’t even know how to begin. It’s like a dream come true though. There’s still a lot left in this competition, but just that in itself is amazing to get to do and get to meet her,” he said.

He’s already getting attention. At the Rascals competition, a man put a contract in front of him. To which, he promptly responded he had to ask his daddy, Bobby, he said.

Then Thursday morning, he was interviewed by a co-sponsor of the competition, WKAA 99.5 Kicks Country in Valdosta. So far, he’s the only winner brought in to interview, said his mother, Reather.

Reather Knox said she hadn’t been in a bar for 27 years but went that night — along with about 20 or so others — to cheer him on. His grandmother had the best time of all, she said.

Knox graduated from New Beginnings Christian Academy. He’s sung with his older sister, Mary Anne, at Calvary Baptist Church and at weddings, but he never has participated in a choral group, he said. In fact, he’s had no formal training. The only practice he’s had in front of an audience is from karaoke.

“I sing karaoke everywhere I can sing karaoke. I never really did (sing) for competition until this year,” he said.

“He’s at home with a crowd,” Reather Knox said. “You can’t imagine what it was like (Wednesday). I couldn’t believe it. I looked at Bobby and said, ‘Is that our son up there?'”

Knox said he was told to expect about 15,000 people turning out for Lynn.

He’s not rattled by the prospect.

“I love a crowd. The bigger, the better,” he said.

The Colgate Country Showdown begins each spring with more than 400 local talent contests sponsored by country music radio stations throughout the U.S., the Web site said. The prestigious national final is televised to a national audience as performers compete for the grand prize of $100,000 and a chance to launch a professional music career.