Tension hung in the air as contestants in the Howard County Library Teen Idol Competition waited for the results.
Daniel Goldstein, a rising eighth-grader at Elkridge Landing Middle School who had donned a sparkly top hat and belted out "There's No Business Like Show Business," passed the time by playing a piano in the hallway. Others contestants nibbled on cookies and pretzels.
Jamie Goldstein, Daniel's father, said the event for his son was "a little bit serious and a little bit fun," adding that the young singer had rehearsed quite a bit during the days leading to the competition.
FOR THE RECORD
In an article published in Wednesday's Howard section about the Howard County Library Teen Idol competition, the school that Daniel Goldstein attends was incorrect. Goldstein is a rising eighth-grader at Ellicott Mills Middle.
The Sun regrets the error.
"He's loved theater since second grade," he said. "It's his thing."
Several contestants harbored dreams of competing in the real American Idol, the hit TV show, when they are old enough.
Now in its fifth year, the popular event was moved from the Miller branch library to the Banneker Room at the George Howard Building, a larger and more comfortable venue. As in past years, middle and high school students belted out numbers for judges, who scored on criteria such as charisma, range, song selection and hitting the right notes. The 10 finalists had survived auditions that saw 40 crooners eliminated.
After about 15 minutes of deliberation, the judges announced the winner: Alyssa Shouse, 13, a rising eighth-grader at Elkridge Landing Middle who sang "Broken Wing" by Martina McBride. Before she knew she had won, Alyssa, who sings in plays and talent shows, said she took her preparation for the event seriously but also thought it was a lot of fun. She won an invitation to sing the national anthem at a Bowie Baysox game.
Second place went to Katie Rasmussen, who sang "By My Side" from Godspell, and the third-place winner was Marissa Zechinato, who sang "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera.
In addition to Daniel Goldstein, the other contestants were Charles Freeman, Maggie Dransfield, Laura Harrison, Anna Mateo, Sarah Stephen and Caitlin Colvin.
Katie George, a Howard County librarian who runs the event, said auditions in the past were divided by age, with one night for middle-schoolers and the next night for high-schoolers. Usually, about 25 middle-schoolers came out while no more than 15 older students would show up, she said.
This year, when any age could audition either night, attendance went up, with 25 singers trying out each night, she said.
