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Header Banner Made with MyBannerMaker.com! Click here to make your own!Singers at mall idolized... By JO CIAVAGLIA Bucks County Courier Times... Slowly, the entourage of security guards, media members, PR people, performers and corporate promoters wound its way down through stark inner bowels of the Oxford Valley Mall. Jessica, Latoya, Mikalah and George warmed up their voices, the blended sounds echoing against the bare concrete walls and floors. They walked outside into the courtyard, passing skater punks, sunbathers, parents pushing baby strollers and a guy hauling soda. They re-entered the mall where shoppers appeared oblivious or confused about what was going on. As the group neared the temporary stage near Sears, onlookers strained for a glimpse, angled cameras high in the air and waved homemade signs. "Mikalah is still my Idol." "We Love George." Inside a metal gate corralling thousands of onlookers, two aspiring local singers waited, with the same dreams of the celebrity life. To perform before millions of fans who scream and cheer their names. To be the next Anthony Fedorov or Justin Guarini, the two Bucks County residents who also became finalists on the popular Fox TV show, "American Idol." One of them is a year too old, though. The other is way too young. Still, Sunday afternoon, Jami Vitale and Ashley Flite could share a dream - to win a karaoke contest at the Middletown mall. An hour earlier inside the second-floor mall management suite, a small TV broadcast a local Fox 29 News show, but it was the former "Idol" finalists who commanded all the attention. Mikalah Gordon (Season 4, No.11) debated wearing a lime-green cap that matched the shade of her low-cut top and $13 green and turquoise open-toe heels. "Looovvve the hat," cried George Huff (Season 3, No. 5). Jessica Sierra, (Season 4, No. 10) walked in wearing a plastic-jeweled tiara someone just gave to her. Latoya London (Season 3, No. 4) held a tight smile as a makeup man perfected her glossy lips. The finalists are participating in a 12-city national promotional shopping mall tour, where they sing, dance, answer questions and judge a live Idol-style singing and dance competition and drink in their new-found fame. For Sierra, the weirdest experience since returning home to Florida happened a few weeks ago in a McDonald's drive-thru. A grown woman jumped on her car, asking for her autograph. "It's so weird how people recognize you," she said. In 1999, Jami Vitale placed third in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant. Three years later, doctors removed her ulcerated lower intestines. The surgery left the Bristol woman unable to lift anything. She couldn't do her laundry. She is disabled, but she sings, sometimes in bars. Recently, she auditioned for an Atlantic City casino. At 29, she is a year too old for "Idol" producers. Still, she and a cousin arrived nearly three hours early on Sunday to get a spot near the stage. "We love Latoya and Mikalah," Vitale said. "We were really mad when Mikalah got voted off. You don't understand; I threw a temper tantrum. I love everything about her." Ashley Flite is 9 years old. At age 6, she started voice lessons. She competed in beauty pageants and usually won the talent competition. Ashley and her mom, Gina, are big "Idol" fans. Country darlin' Carrie Underwood is their favorite this season. Gina joked the show's producers need to lower the age minimum (currently 16 years) a little, so her daughter could get on. "She would win," Flite said. The event staffers picked six people in the crowd to perform for the ex-finalists. The winner received a $50 gift certificate and an "American Idol" director's chair. Vitale performed second, belting out Faith Hill's "Breathe." " You make me want to say the F-word - FAAAAAAbulosSSSSSSSS," Mikalah cried. "That was absolutely wonderful," Sierra added. The screaming crowd agreed. Ashley waited for her turn. She was the youngest contestant. Also the last one to perform. As in save the best for... The 60-pound fourth-grader has a voice 10-times bigger. Her version of Jessica Simpson's "Angel," brought London to tears. The performance ended with the judges standing, the crowd roaring. "You sang it 10 times better than Jessica Simpson," Huff said. "For the first time EVER, you made Mikalah Gordon speechless," Sierra added. "If I had a label, I'd sign you right now," London said. The Oxford Valley Mall crowd voted. Who would it be? The girl studying cosmetology at Bucks County Technical High School, who recently recorded her first demo? The Trenton guy? The red-faced Hatboro college student? The teen who drove 45-minutes to belt out Aretha Franklin's "Respect." The decision wasn't all that close. By the sound of applause and cheers, the winner was declared: Ashley Flite. Near the stage, a smiling Gina filmed every moment. Afterward Mikalah's mom congratulated Gina, adding that Mikalah, too, started singing at age 6. Then, out of the human wall behind the metal gate, a woman approached, her arm outstretched. Her hand held a business card, bearing the name of a talent management agency. April 18, 2005
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