Audience will choose Yuma Star
Who will be this year's Yuma Star? You can help choose the Top 3 winners at the ninth annual Yuma Star finals Wednesday.
Yuma Sun online voters have already chosen the contestants who will perform in the finals, which will begin at 7 p.m. at the Historic Yuma Theatre in downtown Yuma.
Twelve contestants, plus two wild cards, will vie for the biggest cash prizes so far, with $1,000 going to first place, $500 for second and $300 for third place.
The live audience will be the sixth judge with the audience vote counting toward 40 percent of the final scores.
“This will be your opportunity to help decide who the Top 3 will be,” said Adrianne Wagner, Yuma Sun marketing manager.
Everyone who buys a ticket will receive a ballot. The judges' scores and the audience ballots will be compiled after the performances. The winners will be announced that night.
The “celebrity” judges this year include Adriana Tansey, 2006 Yuma Star winner; Ruben Dominguez, vocal coach and past contestant; Jeff Harris, Monster Media; Gina Flores, lead singer of BigJowWow; and Bob Roeser, past performer with Up With People and Yuma Sun circulation director.
With so many talented singers performing in the finals, “it's hard to tell who will win, that's why the audience vote is very important,” Wagner noted.
This year the competition started with 34 contestants. The judges chose the Top 20 who went on to Round 2, during which Yuma residents voted online for the Top 12 who have advanced to the finals. The Yuma Star committee chose two wild cards to stay in the competition.
“The finalists are very excited. It's going to be a really good contest,” Wagner said.
In the meantime, Yumans can watch the finalists' performances during Round 1 at YumaSun.com/YumaStar, where contestants' biographies are also posted.
Photos from all three live shows will be available on YumaSun.com/YumaStar after the finals contest.
Presale ticket prices for the finals are $6. They can be purchased at the Yuma Sun offices, 2055 S. Arizona Ave., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On the day of the contest, tickets will be available at the Yuma Sun until 4 p.m.. Tickets can then be purchased at the door on the night of performances for $8.
If you can't make the contest in person, follow the live blog on YumaSun.com and the live feeds on Facebook.com/YumaSunMarketing or @YS_Marketing on Twitter.
But remember, only those who show up in person can vote!
Yuma Star Finals Lineup
Matthew Alexander
Tatianna Mosqueda
Shawnee Marie
Victoria Atondo
Clara Ortega
The Sawyer Siblings
Marina Vjetrovic
Eunice Hernandez
Joey Leon
Obed Salgado
Nannette Avendano
Magdalena Palafox
Carolyn Johnston
Alien vs. Predator
Mara Knaub can be reached at mknaub@yumasun.com or 539-6856. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSMaraKnaub or on Twitter at @YSMaraKnaub
