FRACKVILLE - Makenna Copeland was named the winner of the 2014 Schuylkill County Junior Idol contest Wednesday at the Schuylkill Mall.
The 15-year-old from Schuylkill Haven shined above the rest of the competition over the past four weeks, beating out the other 23 contestants.
Standing with the other two finalists, Kassidy Svenson, 15, of Auburn, and Kieffer Quandel, 14, of Hegins, Copeland appeared overjoyed when she was announced as the winner, especially after the suspense that built up to the moment.
While mall General Manager Elaine Maneval was attempting to announce the winner, the slip of paper with the winner's name was inside multiple envelopes that kept getting smaller to build on the contestants' nerves.
"I actually have to thank a few people, a lot of people," Copeland said. "Mom, I'm looking right at you because if you didn't push me, I wouldn't be where I am right now. Thank you for all of your support."
She also thanked her friends, her teacher who was attending and all the judges.
"Everyone, thank you so much," she said.
Copeland then performed an encore, "Freckles" by Natasha Bedingfield.
Being declared the Idol winner, Copeland received a $1,000 Schuylkill Mall shopping spree, a $100 gift certificate courtesy of the Bon-Ton, a makeover courtesy of the Beverly Carlton, a professional photo shoot by Michael's Photography, Frackville, a digital caricature package by Angie Jordan and the opportunity to perform at the Schuylkill County Fair in August.
While there was much suspense at the end, it built up throughout the night as the three remaining contestants each performed three songs and were judged by three judges, Glenn Roberts, Allison Stella and Allison Kline, who scored them based on four areas: stage presence, technical ability, showmanship and overall performance.
The first song was a song of their choosing, the second was picked from a list that kept with the theme "winter blues" and the third was suggested by the three judges.
Copeland started the night with "Stars" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.
Her first song started out a bit rough,
"Once you hit that chorus, it was really good," Roberts said.
During the first song, Quandel sang "I Like It, I Love It" by Tim McGraw, donning a cowboy hat and getting the crowd clapping along.
All of the judges said that he had an excellent stage presence, but some words got lost when there were lows in the song and, at some times, his mouth was too far away from the microphone.
"From the time you stepped down, until the time you walked off, you were in it," Kline said.
"When you go for those higher notes, you hit them spot on," Stella said."
During the last round of songs, Svenson sang "American Honey" by Lady Antebellum, which was accompanied by a slideshow projected behind her of photos from when she was growing up.
The judges said that her slideshow didn't take away from her performance but enhanced it.
"It was very thoughtful," Kline said. "I think you went the extra mile."
The event was sponsored by Pepsi and the Frackville Rotary.