By JOSEPH KELLARD
The decisive judging for the fourteen finalists of the OMS (Oceanside Middle School) Idol Contest, held at the Oceanside High School on Wednesday, Jan. 29, was instead the result of the audience's secret balloting.
The finalists were Jennifer Schindler, Francheska Gomez, Chris Kear, Michelle Mauceri, Brittany Jakubowitz, Chris Imbriano, Georgia Goldfine, Lauren Goldberg, Becky Collins, Bobby Ellis, Cindy Weinman, Jillian Henigman, Matt Dito, and Jamie Turcios. These contestants were chosen among 85 middle school students who auditioned in November for the show.
The Idol Contest winners, announced the following day, were Jillian Henigman, who performed "Emotional" by Christine Aguliara, and Bobby Ellis, who sang "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly.
"When I went up there, it wasn't about winning, it was about having fun," Jillian said. "I had a great time."
"It feels pretty good because I know that I'm helping out children in need at the hospital, and I know that I won at the same time, so it feels really nice," Bobby said.
The talent show is the first in a series of fund-raisers the Middle School students are holding this year for the Children's Medical Fund for Snyder's Children Hospital. The show raised approximately $3,000.
"This contest is only the kickoff event for a year of fundraising events to follow," said Nancy Morris, the head of student activities and organizer of the contest. "This year it's for Snyder's, last year we did it for Rescue Co. 1 [of the Oceanside Fire Department]. Each year we earmark another charity to get involved in. And all kids in our school will be involved."
The show was divided between two sets of seven individual performances that were punctuated by all the finalists performing choreographed dances to various numbers, the most memorable being "It's Raining Men." During this number, the girls sang and danced around the boys who donned rain jackets and held umbrellas.
For Bobby it was his first time in a talent contest and before a large audience. "It was pretty nerve-wracking," he said. "But when I was up on stage, you couldn't see anything because the lights were so bright. So it didn't make me that nervous."
Jillian, however, had been for such shows prior to the Idol Contest. "The first talent show I did was for my elementary school, and there was only a few people there," she said. "At this one, there was a lot of people there. It's kind of scary at first before you go on. But, you know what? I just went up and had fun."
Said Morris after the contest, "This show was about kids helping kids. Hopefully, the meaning of it had to make a difference, not winning and losing."
