Out of 13 talented contestants, judges and audience members picked one singer to be crowned this year's Anson Idol— David Marsh.

Marsh, who performed high-spirited gospel songs in both rounds of the competition, held Saturday, Dec. 5, at Wadesboro Elementary, was picked by audience reaction over runner-up Joy Smith.

The judges— Anson Record editor Abby Cavenaugh, Rodney Leak, a team leader at Perdue Farms, and Ken Willis, a former Anson High School teacher— narrowed the field down to five contestants after the original 13 sang a capella for one minute.

It was a tough decision for the judges, as they agreed there was a lot of talent. In fact, one contestant picked for the top five— Dejon Bivens— declined to move on into the next round of competition and the judges had the fairly easy task of picking the next most impressive contestant.

The top five— Smith, Marsh, Keyanne McCray, Tequita Marsh and Rakeem Love— then were asked to perform for three minutes each, and could sing with musical accompaniment, if they wished. Smith performed the upbeat "Praise Him," with music, dancing a little and inviting the crowd to sing along with her. Marsh, as in his earlier performance, remained a capella and opted not to go onstage, performing on the gym floor at Wadesboro Elementary, walking closer to the judges and audience as he belted out an impressive performance.

The judges then narrowed down the field to Smith and Marsh, and left the decision of who would be the next Anson Idol up to the audience. Anson Idol organizers used a device that measured decibel levels and asked the crowd to cheer for who they thought the winner should be.

Marsh was clearly the winner, with the cheers reverberating off the gym walls. However, as event emcee Leon Gatewood pointed out, "There are no losers tonight because we're all doing this for a good cause."

Anson Idol is one of the largest annual fundraisers for HOLLA!, Helping Our Loved Ones Achieve, and proceeds from Saturday's event will go toward the HOLLA! Resource and Development Center in Morven and the HOLLA! 100 Reasons to Achieve Initiative.

Saturday's Anson Idol was hosted by Anson native Travis Barrino, who kept the crowd entertained with jokes between performances. A Michael Jackson impersonator also performed at the beginning of the show, and a tribute to the gloved one preceded the event.

The entire Anson Idol competition is available for purchase for $20 on DVD by contacting HOLLA! at 704-694-3552 or e-mail holla@wadesboro.com.