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WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Eighteen local singers of all ages poured their hearts out at the inaugural “Show Us Your Voice” karaoke contest on Saturday afternoon at the Wyoming Valley Mall.
Bryna Soriano, 12, from Wilkes-Barre took the grand prize by singing the Alicia Keys song “If I Ain’t Got You.” She said she won because she focused on performing the song “step-by-step.” She won tickets to see Maroon 5 on Monday night in Philadelphia.
“I’ve been listening and learning (the song),” she said. “I did it all by ear. … I nailed everything.”
She added that there will be more singing competitions in her future.
Soriano was selected grand-prize winner by three judges — Rotarian Christine Katsock and Dave Evans and Rebecca May from the local band “Gone Crazy.”
Winners in four different age groups also took away gift certificates and other prizes.
Organizer and Rotarian Alan Bartoli said the event was set up as a way to give back to the community for its support of the Plains Rotary and all its various charity and fundraising events.
The club members wanted to say thank you and build awareness about what the club does, he said.
“We put service before self,” he said.
The members of the Rotary Club came up with the idea of a karaoke contest a few weeks ago, thinking it would be a fun activity for local youth who are fans of the very popular amateur singing competitions, Bartoli said.
The club accepted audition videos over the last few weeks and pared the group down to the final 18 who appeared on stage Saturday.
Bartoli admits it was not easy to choose the final competitors because of the large number of auditions that were sent in and the short amount of time the club had to judge.
“We really tried to choose those who showed the best vocal ability,” he said.
Those who were not chosen should not lose faith, he added, because the Plains Rotary is committed to making the event bigger in the coming years.
Joseph Ohrin, marketing director for the Wyoming Valley Mall, said the mall management “partnered” with the Rotary Club to make the event possible.
“The Rotary is a good community organization,” Ohrin said. “Our property is also committed to the community, making an overall good fit.”