FRACKVILLE - Love was the theme for the second round of the Schuylkill County Junior Idol IV competition as contestants sang their favorite love song in the Schuylkill Mall on Tuesday night.
After narrowing the competition from 34 to 10 contestants last week, each singer performed two songs each, the second being a love song of choice.
Advancing to the second round were McKenna Becker, 13, of Pine Grove; Reiley Lonergan, 13, of Minersville; Britnee Schneck, 13, of Auburn; Emily Barrett, 11, of Tuscarora; Rachel Gricoski, 14, of Frackville; Lauren Hunter, 12, of Schuylkill Haven; Megan Wike, 14, of Pine Grove; Ashley Smith, 13, of Pottsville; Gabriella Frey, 14, of Coaldale; and Kassidy Svenson, 13, of Auburn.
Opening the show this week was the winner of Schuylkill Junior Idol II, Maura Gownley, Ashland. While also playing the piano, Gownley performed her versions of "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys and "Mannequin" by Katy Perry.
Since winning the competition two years ago, Gownley said she sang at a few parties and has been putting a lot of time into making YouTube videos of her performances. She said one of her videos has more than 76,000 hits.
"My advice is to be confident in your singing and be yourself," Gownley said. "The judges are really looking at how you show off your own unique voice."
Becker said this was her first experience performing in front of larger crowds.
"It's been great," Becker said. "I've met a lot of nice people and each has their own very unique personalities."
Becker performed "Girls Put Your Records On" by Corrine Dailey Rae and "A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans.
She said the songs were two of her favorites and said her friends really liked her versions of them.
"The advice that I used was to project your voice and have fun," Becker said.
Also in her first year in the competition, Gricoski said she was more nervous this week because there were more family members in attendance.
"I tried to walk around more and work with the audience," Gricoski said.
Gricoski performed "Back to December" by Taylor Swift and "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri.
"They are two of my favorite songs," Gricoski said. "I picked more upbeat songs last week so I wanted to do something more downbeat."
Wike said also said this was her first year in the competition, but she is used to singing in front of large crowds since she has performed at a few fairs.
"It's been really fun," Wike said. "I love to sing and just coming out here to show people my talent is enough for me. I don't need to win."
Wike said she picked two songs she was comfortable singing, "Bring on the Rain" by Jo Dee Messina and "Love Story" by Taylor Swift.
Some of the things she said she worked on since last week were her facial expressions and moving around on stage.
The contest will be narrowed down to six contestants before next week's performances at 6 p.m. at center court of the mall. Results are posted at center court of the mall and at www.shopschuylkillmall.com at 3 p.m. the following day after the performances. After next week's performances, there will be three contestants and a winner being declared after the final performances on Feb. 28.
Judges this year are Ark Waidall, Susan Smallwood and Angie Jordan. The event is being sponsored by the Frackville Rotary, Schuylkill Mall Theatres, Schuylkill County Fair, Verizon Wireless and Pepsi.