Saturday night was the finals of the Tinian Star contest (the island's American Idol singing contest). It was held at the Tinian Dynasty Casino, in the main entry under the dome. We also went for pizza...
We were greeted at the door by a new foreign employee...
The open hall at the entry was decorated for Christmas, and along the far wall was a stage
The finals had three young girls competing for Little Star, and five adults competing to become the Big Star.
A table of trophies was laid out, just waiting for the final decision to be made by the Judges. Unlike a normal singing contest, this contest was also a fundraiser... and they modified the judging rules in order to promote more ticket sales: 50% of the Judges decision was based upon who sold the most tickets, and 50% was based upon the actual singing ability. Those singers who had a lot of family and friends, and who purchased more tickets, had an advantage in the final vote for the winner.
While waiting for the main program to begin, and while waiting for the Judges to make their decision, and to add more entertainment, a number of individuals and groups, who were not in the contest, also performed.
Here are a few of the young contestants that we saw. The sound quality in the room was not very good, as the dome seemed to cause an echo inside the room. Also, the noise from the large crowd seemed to mix with the sound of the performers, making both hearing and taping the performances difficult.
Here are some of the adult performers. They were all very good, but Terri and I definitely had a favorite--the last contestant seemed to be far and away the best singer, and the crowd was really energized by his song. The one pictured above was the second runner-up.
In the adult category, both men and women competed together. The woman pictured above was the winner, having a combined judges score and ticket sales the highest.
As you can see, some performers came all dressed up, while others seemed to have chosen street clothes to perform in...
This beautiful young woman ended up as the First runner-up in the singing contest: her combination of ticket sales and position as to singing ability, came close, but both added to create just a second place for her.
This singer, named Junie, was our personal favorite, and I understand he was also the Judges pick as best singer (he also happens to be the husband of one of the nurses at the medical clinic). He did not win the contest, however, because his ticket sales were low... he ended up as the Third runner-up.
In-between the singing, Terri visited with some of her friends... This is Amber, one of our Godchildren here on Tinian.
Terri is seen here talking to Phynze (sounds like 'pines'), who is the wife of Junie, who we thought was the best singer of the night
The children who had been brought by their parents all seemed to have been put into the center of the room (there are chairs and couches placed in a circle around the dome, creating a natural 'fence' to keep the wild animals in...). Many were playing and running in a circle around the Christmas tree during the program....which added to the sound problem.
Here is a picture of the Tinian Casino dance group. They had choreographed a street-dance routine that was very good
During the dance routine, and during some of the singing, the children would suddenly stop their playing and sit in rapt attention, as they too enjoyed the entertainment!
We were greeted at the door by a new foreign employee...
The open hall at the entry was decorated for Christmas, and along the far wall was a stage
The finals had three young girls competing for Little Star, and five adults competing to become the Big Star.
A table of trophies was laid out, just waiting for the final decision to be made by the Judges. Unlike a normal singing contest, this contest was also a fundraiser... and they modified the judging rules in order to promote more ticket sales: 50% of the Judges decision was based upon who sold the most tickets, and 50% was based upon the actual singing ability. Those singers who had a lot of family and friends, and who purchased more tickets, had an advantage in the final vote for the winner.
While waiting for the main program to begin, and while waiting for the Judges to make their decision, and to add more entertainment, a number of individuals and groups, who were not in the contest, also performed.
Here are a few of the young contestants that we saw. The sound quality in the room was not very good, as the dome seemed to cause an echo inside the room. Also, the noise from the large crowd seemed to mix with the sound of the performers, making both hearing and taping the performances difficult.
Here are some of the adult performers. They were all very good, but Terri and I definitely had a favorite--the last contestant seemed to be far and away the best singer, and the crowd was really energized by his song. The one pictured above was the second runner-up.
In the adult category, both men and women competed together. The woman pictured above was the winner, having a combined judges score and ticket sales the highest.
As you can see, some performers came all dressed up, while others seemed to have chosen street clothes to perform in...
This beautiful young woman ended up as the First runner-up in the singing contest: her combination of ticket sales and position as to singing ability, came close, but both added to create just a second place for her.
This singer, named Junie, was our personal favorite, and I understand he was also the Judges pick as best singer (he also happens to be the husband of one of the nurses at the medical clinic). He did not win the contest, however, because his ticket sales were low... he ended up as the Third runner-up.
In-between the singing, Terri visited with some of her friends... This is Amber, one of our Godchildren here on Tinian.
Terri is seen here talking to Phynze (sounds like 'pines'), who is the wife of Junie, who we thought was the best singer of the night
The children who had been brought by their parents all seemed to have been put into the center of the room (there are chairs and couches placed in a circle around the dome, creating a natural 'fence' to keep the wild animals in...). Many were playing and running in a circle around the Christmas tree during the program....which added to the sound problem.
Here is a picture of the Tinian Casino dance group. They had choreographed a street-dance routine that was very good
During the dance routine, and during some of the singing, the children would suddenly stop their playing and sit in rapt attention, as they too enjoyed the entertainment! 
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