"See that name?" Vrakas asked Vrba, pointing to the name on the Les Paul Performance Center where the event was held. "Les Paul would be very proud of you."

Hansen told Allison Day, 17, a senior at Catholic Memorial High School, that it’s obvious she’ll have a future on the stage after she performed "No Good Deed," from the musical "Wicked."

Mackenzi Enright, 14, a freshman at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, got the crowd clapping with her upbeat performance of "ë Will Survive," which won kudos from Vrakas.

"My daughter says music is life and you brought that song to life for us tonight," he told Enright.

Jenders said winning the Audience Choice Award meant a great deal to her.

"It’s the fans that keep you going," she said. "I just figured that wherever place I ended up in, I had fun and enjoyed being with the other contestants.

"Singing is my passion. It’s what I do."

Her father, Donald Jenders, credited his daughter’s win to her hard work.

"She worked very, very hard each week to find music to fit with her talent in the competition," he said. "It made me feel so good to have her win. I’ve always told her that if you work hard, positive things will come to her."

Her mother, Christine Jenders, dressed in a black T-shirt with her daughter’s name on front and the list of her songs in Teen Idol 07 on the back, said her talent was evident even as a very little girl.

"She loved to twirl around and act out, even when very young," she said. "She sings for the joy of it."