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If you missed THIS year's show, well, you missed the BEST show yet.  Don't believe me...just look below!

12-year-old Aubrey VanAllen kicked off the show with a great rendition of "All You Wanted" from Michelle Branch.  She didn't make it easy for the judges to be critical!  It sure looked as if JoAnn "Paula" Ryan was enthused!

LEFT:  Brian Nowell raised the bar a little "Higher" with his number from Creed.

RIGHT:  Catherine McKenna nailed her version of "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence.

The judges started warming up with their commentary on these two acts, but the webmaster enjoyed them both immensely!!

And where were YOU when Tyson Chamberlin faced the music from his fellow Rotarians after doing Alan Jackson some serious justice?

I thought they would have a tough time criticizing such a dramatic song, but they found a way...somehow!

After the first volunteer from the audience gave the judges some red meat, the singer at left WOWed them with some Bacharach!

Then a young volunteer was bold enough to draft a judge to team up with her...Kirby probably would have done better alone!! 

"AT LAST!!"  Lynne Wilson offered up a Celine Dion number that Jeff "Randy" Lalonde could really appreciate!  In fairness to Lynne, she only found out that day that this song held some personal significance to this judge.

Above - another pair of volunteers awaits the judges' opinions, along with hosts Mary Jones and Dan Lovallo from the Talk of Connecticut

The background may have looked purple to the audience, but Chyenne Giarnese saw an "Orange Colored Sky," and she gave Natalie Cole a run for her money!!

For those sitting in back, the low mic volume may have thrown them off, but the judges could sure hear her!! She was certainly one of their favorites!

"Save a Horse..." was Craig Fischer's rallying cry to the audience to close out the first set.  As always, Craig shows a knack for getting the crowd into it!  The judges may have been a different matter, but Craig certainly didn't hear the worst of it from them either.

Yep...that's me.  While I seemed very focused on rewarding the children in the crowd, maybe I should have given the judges more attention?  Or could it be that they just don't appreciate a good Jethro Tull number?

LEFT:  C'mon!  Anyone who's ever listened to WAPJ knows our friend WiBo!  He came out of the audience to treat us to his version of "My Girl."

RIGHT:  It's hard to say what was better about 11-year-old Brianna Cole's performance, the way she gave "Calling All Angels" her own awesome personal stamp, or the way she gave Robert "Simon" Rovezzi "what 4!"

This volunteer probably should have thought of bribes for "Randy" and "Simon" as well!

Hats off to Valerie Royals, who was on hand to face the music after a very well-produced video featuring herself and our Mayor, who was called away short-notice to a conference in New Mexico on homeland security.  The video gave a very local flair to Kenny Chesney's "Back Where I Come From."

While the young volunteers from the audience did have a difficult time with our judges, they were Reuben & Kelly next to the illustrious Silver Dollars, who might have had a better chance had someone from the group considered using one of the microphones at their disposal.  Oh well, their stage presence is what makes them such a fun, unique act anyhow!

This volunteer chose the "direct" approach to "Randy" while singing "Makin' Whoopee."  Did it help?  Well, she didn't walk away with Mikey, so YOU be the judge!

Meanwhile, Katie Bucaccio (left) and Theresa Murphy receive support from Mary and Dan (and great marks from 2 of the judges) after their rendition of "Take Me or Leave Me" from the musical "Rent."

Marilyn Plaskiewicz, no stranger to the Warner stage, felt the need to bribe the judges (with PLAY MONEY...c'mon!) before pulling off a great rendition of Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Passionate Kisses."

Eight-year-old Lauren Parente, a volunteer from the audience, cleverly chose Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This."

This proved to be a pivotal "moment" in the show, when "Simon" broke his pattern of awarding little more than a "4," blurting out a "9" to join the "7" from "Randy" and the "8" from "Paula."

After one final volunteer took the stage, it was time for emcees Dan Lovallo and Mary Jones to take a trip through Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York."  While Dan's voice dominated, you had to give Mary credit for fighting through a bad cold to get out her share of the singing!

While all the singers were called back for one last round of "YMCA," Lauren was given a surprise introduction to her new friend, "Mikey!"

We hope you enjoyed this memorable version of Sing Your Heart Out, and if you didn't...better mark your calendars for next year!!