M'town Teen a Winner in Freehold Idol

Middletown teen CJ Marsini struck the right chord with Freehold Idol judges last week when he, out of 17 contestants, tied as the top finalist in his age group in the musical performance contest last week.

Judges Neal Girandola, Joe Orlando and Jo Wymer chose Marsini, 16, for his rendition of "Feeling Good," as one of the winners in the 15- to 22-year-old age group. Lauren Rosenthal, of Edison, tied with Marsini in that age group for her performance of "Ready for Love."

The two were two of four finalists among the 17 competitors inthe Aug. 10 downtown Freehold competition.

Emily Bennett, 13, of Howell, won in the 10- to 14-year-old category with her performance of "Hurt."

And Erin Patrick, 26, of Holmdel, won in the over 23 category with her rendition of "Respect."

Another Middletown resident, 11-year-old Meredith McNamara, of the Lincroft section, competed with her rendition of "Jar of Hearts."

Other contestants included:

• Nicole Govel, 14, of Marlboro, singing an original song, "The Ballad of Boo Radley"
• Brianna Binkowski, 15, of Howell, performing "Naturally."
• Fednerly Lamothe, 14, of Union, singing "If I Were a Boy."
• Serena Weil, 11, of New Hope, Pa., performing "The House That Built Me."
• Lucy Fiqueras, 22, of Freehold, singing "Hurt."
• Tony Laster, 59, of Englishtown, performing "Doin' Time."
• Donna Kwon, 16, of Morganville, singing "I Will Survive."
• Rachel Calvosa, 13, of Freehold, performing "River Deep, Mountain High."
• Maggie Barilka, 13, of Morganville, singing "Beautiful."
• Alexandra DeSarno, 13, of Ocean Township, performing "Rollin' in the Deep."
• Gianna Milia, 12, of Manalapan, performing "Because of You."
• Ashley Loksa, 21, of Englishtown, singing "Turning Tables."

The winners from this summer's weekly rounds of Freehold Idol will advance to the finals, which will be held tomorrow, Aug. 17 and Wednesday, Aug. 24.

The first place winner in each age group will receive $500 and recording time at the Monmouth Academy of Musical Arts; the second place winner will receive $250; and the third place winner will receive $100. Freehold Idol is sponsored by Downtown Freehold, the business partnership in Freehold Borough.