Yuma Star finals live blog!

Reporter Mara Knaub blogged live during the finals of the Yuma Star competition at the Historic Yuma Theater Wednesday night.

Congratulations to the winners! See you next year!

9:24 p.m. An emotional Juni said she was surprised especially with so much talent in Yuma. She thanked God and her family and church friends.

9:20 p.m. Woo-hoo! Finally! John announcing the winners ...

3rd place and the winner of $300 cash - Clara Ortega

2nd place and the winner of $500 cash - Alien vs. Predator

1st place and the winner of $1,000 cash - Juni Hernandez

9:18 p.m. And now for the winners ... but not before John Courtis raffles off four more shirts. Talk about keeping us in suspense.

9:05 p.m. Alright! Gina Flores on stage, singing "Chain of Fools." Wow wow. She's good. My first time listening to her. Love her!

Now covering country diddy "Undo" by Carrie Underwood. Did I mention how good she is?!

She's finishing her set on a high energy note, with "Respect." Goosebumps good!

8:56 p.m. Instead of throwing T-shirts into the audience and creating a frenzy, this year John Courtis is raffling them off.

8:51 p.m. Performances over! Audience ballots being collected. While the ballots are being counted, we'll hear our very own celebrity judge, Gina Flores of BigWowJoy, close the show. Can't wait!

8:48 p.m. And now the last act, Alien vs. Predator singing "Hey Yeah!" Love Fausto's humor. Uh-oh! He's got a Polaroid camera and is going around taking photos. "Put your hands up," he shouted. Audience very obedient. On stage, Jeremy Dillman jokes, "He should stick to singing."

"Unique factor," chimes in a judge.

He's asking for audience participation. Audience clapping. Now he's asked them to stand up and throwing out things as he sings "Shake it like a Polaroid picture."

8:38 p.m. Carolyn Johnston singing "The Deer in the Headlights." She's got the audience clapping along.

8:34 p.m. Magdalena Palafox dedicating the song to her mom (aw), "Listen." Very good vocalist. I have to say one of the best.

She's also got good stage presence. Isn't afraid to move and use her arms and hands.

8:27 p.m. Nannette Avendano is hitting the stage, with "Battlefield." Wow. She went all out with big fluffy gown. Sorry Elias. I know you don't care about the clothes. LOL

She's a good vocalist, but for some reason it seems like her voice isn't ... jiving with the music. But she's giving it her all. She's very enthusiastic.

8:21 p.m. Obed Salgado up next, performing "Everlong" with his guitar. Explained that it's the first song he did with an audience. Well, he's definitely a good guitarist. He's good but I think he did better in Round 1.

8:15 p.m. Joey Leon sitting on edge of stage in his drag persona again, singing "No Puede Dejar de Amar." I like that it's a Spanish song. Something different.

He's now walking around the auditorium. I just wished there was a spotlight but he's in the dark. He has some good moments and some not so good, but entertaining.

8:08 p.m. Juni Hernandez opening the second half. Wow. Loud audience. I think she brought an army with her! She's singing "The Art," accompanied by pianist.

She's saying song is very important to her and dedicates it to her late brother. Her voice broke. Aw.

She's good, very good. Audience very quiet. Ouch! The audience is now cheering so loud it hurts my ears.

8:06 p.m. Show back on! Seven more performances and then the audience will be able to vote. Each ticketholder has a ballot.

7:53 p.m. I apologize for the delay. I lost the internet. But let me fill you in ...

Clara Ortega introduced a change of pace with an operatic choice, "Art is Calling to Me." The audience seemed surprised (pleasantly!). She finished to rousing applause, a few even gave her a standing ovation.

Yuma Star’s first trio, Sawyer Siblings, sang “Airplanes,” another blend of rapping and harmonizing. They’re pretty good at what they do. The audience liked them.

Marinia Vjetrovic sang “Like a Star.” Hmmm. Appropriate? She’s got a good voice.

So those were the first seven performers. We’re now in the 15-minute intermission and we’ll be back with another seven performers.

7:28 p.m. Victoria Atondo now on stage, singing "Read All About It." She explained that the song is not that well known but she likes it because it speaks to her heart and speaks for those who are afraid to speak out.

She's doing a pretty good job. Mostly keeps on pitch, just occasional slips. Nice.

7:22 p.m. Shawnee Marie is up next. Wow. She looks great in her purple outfit. She started with a poem? and went into her song "No One" by Alicia Keys. Pretty good!

She seems to be getting stronger as the song goes on.

7:17 p.m. Next up vying for votes is double-jointed Tatiana Mosqueda singing "If I Ain't Got You." She looks for pretty and classy. Love her choice if gown.

Very sweet. She has a pleasant voice, but occasionally she goes off track.  But I love her confidence. She's moving around the stage.

7:13 p.m. First up is Matthew Alexander, singing "Through Heaven's Eyes." He's very charismatic and immediately gets the audience clapping along.

7:10 p.m. He's saying that he's been doing this for 8 years and this is the best talent he's ever seen.

7:04 p.m. Thanks also to our celebrity judges : Ruben Dominguez, vocal instructor; Adriana Tansey, 2006 Yuma Star winner; Jeff harris, Monster Media; Gina Flores, BigJowWow; Bob Roser, Yuma Sun.

7:00 p.m. MC John Courtis on stage, thanking Historic Yuma Theatre (yeah!) and even sponsors, Aiello Eye Institute, Sun Graphics and Desert Documents Shredders, Monster Media, Chretins Restaurant, Fretworks Music Center and ZTrendz, who made the T-shirts.