NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- Flip through YouTube for five minutes and beyond the bad `` Star Wars '' parodies and nose-picking tutorials , you 'll notice there are a lot of people out there who can sing . Really sing . David Foster is involved with a talent contest in which winners get to perform with him on tour . `` There 's so much talent , '' says long-time record producer David Foster . `` Everywhere you go , there 's talent that have no clue how to be heard . '' But give 16-year-old Mia Boostrom props for having the right idea . She recently set up a camera in her Dighton , Massachusetts , bedroom , propped her guitar on her thigh , hit the record button then sang a breathy rendition of the Maroon 5 song , `` Secret . '' Instead of uploading the video to YouTube in the hopes that a record executive might chance upon it , she sent the video to the social-networking site NameDrop.com because she 'd heard it was hosting a talent contest involving Foster . ( Her video is here . ) Then she got a call : Would she perform with the 15-time Grammy winner on his October 25 tour stop in Boston , Massachusetts ? The man credited for nurturing such talents as Celine Dion , Josh Groban and Michael Buble ? Umm , yeah . `` My brother and I always joke around that David Foster has the Midas touch , and everything he touches turns to gold , '' Boostrom says . `` He 's like the god of all music . '' Watch Foster talk about the contest » . Even Foster jokes about his eminence . `` It 's good to be around me , '' he says . `` I think . Is that wrong to say that ? '' Boostrom is one of 20 finalists chosen by Foster to join his `` David Foster & Friends '' tour that kicks off Wednesday in Chicago , Illinois . At each of the 10 stops , two finalists will perform on stage with Foster , one of whom will be chosen to compete in a final showdown at the tour 's last stop in Vancouver , Canada , on November 8 . The finalists will share the stage with a star-filled cast of musicians Foster is taking on tour with him . The group includes former Chicago frontman Peter Cetera ; Earth , Wind and Fire 's Philip Bailey ; `` American Idol '' graduates Ruben Studdard and Michael Johns ; and Charice , the 17-year-old Filipino newcomer with vocal pipes that some have said rival Whitney Houston 's and Celine Dion 's . The tour is a spin-off from the PBS special `` Hit Man : David Foster & Friends , '' in which Foster used the piano to accompany artists such as Andrea Bocelli , Groban and Buble in a showcase of songs he 'd written or produced in his 35-year career . Foster says to expect special guests in each city , such as Richard Marx in Chicago , and Paul Anka and Neil Sedaka in New York . The contest aspect will give audiences a chance to watch Foster groom fresh talent , a process normally confined to sterile recording studios . For 27-year-old Rosalee Sher , a back-up singer from Las Vegas , Nevada , who 's been picked to compete at Foster 's San Jose , California , gig , this contest is far more appealing than `` American Idol . '' `` I 've always been a bit wary of 'American Idol , ' `` she says . `` I think it 's the whole television aspect . I may even be a little intimidated by Simon Cowell . '' But not by Foster ? `` Not so much , '' she laughs . `` I 'm just really excited to perform with him . '' But it wo n't just be the contestants who 'll get a chance to prove their worth on Foster 's tour . If you 're in the audience , do n't be surprised to get a shot at showing Foster what you 've got . He says he plans to go into the crowd , mic in hand , inviting people to sing . As Foster was quoted on `` American Idol '' last season , `` In life , the microphone passes your lips but once ... you had better be ready to sing . ''
David Foster offering unknowns a shot to sing on tour with him . Celine Dion , a hit-making producer , has worked with Celine Dion , Mia Boostrom . one winner , 16-year-old Celine Dion , is one of one finalists . Another contestant likes the idea better than `` American Idol ''