Top-flight judges were cheerful as they set up before the main stage and listened to the songs. Judge MarE took to the stage to exhibit her own R&B stylings. Christina LaFond of Las Vegas drove up to sing and took first-prize honors in the adult division back over the hump. Emcee Franco Finn, at right, introduces youth contestants, from left, Tyler Charbonneau, Lia Sarandos and Jill Wulfenstein. Sarandos took first-place honors in the division. Advertisement

Christine Lafond, of Las Vegas, a singer in the band "Replay," won the Idol competition in the adult category and the $1,000 first prize at the Pahrump Fall Festival Sunday.

Lia Sarandos, a second-grade student at Hafen Elementary School, won the youth competition; she took home $300. Sarandos, a Cyndi Lauper fan, sang, "Girls Just Wanna' Have Fun" and the Nat King Cole composition, "L.O.V.E."

Lia said she was a little nervous during her first appearance at the fall festival but not for the Sunday finals.

"I kind of let her do her thing. I didn't give her as much credit as I should've," her mother, Samantha Sarandos said. But she was impressed after watching her daughter work the crowd in the initial round Friday night.

Samantha acted as somewhat of an agent for her daughter after the show, in fielding requests for interviews.

Lafond belted out country singer Martina McBride's "Broken Wing," followed by the song "Natural Woman."

Lafond said she has been singing since she was 14 years old. As a child she played Pocahontas at Walt Disney World. The last five years she's been a performer in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort.

Asked what she'd do with the money, Lafond said, "I'm going to take my husband out to eat, then put the rest in savings ... I was very surprised because you know everybody really brought it today. You can never expect to win because every panel's different."

In fact, Judge Patti Diamond, who works for a talent agency, said only one point separated the first- and second-place finishers in the adult competition. Angela Hathaway, another Las Vegan, who sings as "Roxy" at the Stratosphere Casino, finished a close second; she belted out "Big Spender" and "From This Moment On."

But the fact some contestants didn't take home the first-place prize didn't seem to matter. All seemed to be honored they made it in the finals among some tough competition. They all received some valuable exposure which could translate into some future gigs, according to Diamond.

"I represent about 100 different bands and frequently they'll call me up and say, 'Oh, we lost our lead singer,'" Diamond said. She added singers from the Idol competition could be booked for corporate holiday shows.

Diamond is a singer and dancer who performed in the national theater as well as on cruise ships. She has been featured on the E! Entertainment network, the Today Show and is an image consultant for ABC-TV.

Likewise, the younger contestants took it all in stride.

"We're all winners. We're just here to have fun," said Tyler Charbonneau, who finished second in the youth competition. She sang the song, "Fly" followed by "What Dreams Are Made Of."

The last contestant to make the finals in the youth division was Jill Wulfenstein, who sang "Yodelin' Blues" and "Intimate."

Five contestants made it into the finals in the adult category. Bud Taylor was the third place finisher and last one to take home money, singing two country compositions, "The Dance," and "All These Years."

Two other contestants were finalists in the adult competition. Jeff Stacey sang "Since I Fell For You," and got some audience participation in "Mustang Sally." Loney Childress sang "Take On Me," and "Just Once."

"Fifth place isn't bad," Childress said while waiting for the judging. "It's not a matter you did bad, it's just judges liked someone better."

Childress, a Pahrump resident, said he sang with a group called Flood Zone until 1999.

Looking on at the finals competition was Rick Garza, who operates the sound equipment for the karaoke at Sullivan's Pub. He said some of the finalists sing karaoke at the pub.

Judge MarE Hernandez, who was a contestant on the real American Idol show, sang with the group Sweet Addiction and appeared in the halftime show for the NBA finals, said. "It was a hard competition to judge, very, very talented people."

Hernandez said she didn't necessarily have a favorite,. The two women who finished first and second were both her choices.

Judge Paul Holmquist, who began his performing career as one of the Kids of the Kingdom at Disneyland, went on to perform at Disney's theme park in Tokyo and in numerous commercials as well as musicals like "The Music Man" and "Hello Dolly!" He vwas asked if the judges all agreed on their top choice. Holmquist said they weren't allowed to see each other's scores. But he said with the adults it was pretty clear who the clear favorites were.

"It all came down to the numbers," he said.

San Francisco Bay Area radio personality Franco Finn, the master of ceremonies, said over 100 people initially auditioned for Idol last August.