Olivia Hamilton crowned Bermuda Idol (with video)

An emotional Olivia Hamilton cradled her face in her hands when it was announced she was crowned the 2014 Bermuda Idol last night at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium.

Ms Hamilton was the last of 14 contestants to take to the stage in the first round and owned it as she worked the crowd with her rendition of Whitney Houston’s ‘I believe in you and me’.

But it just wasn’t the crowd that fell in love with her, as the judges said she gave them goose bumps and compared her to American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.

The judging panel included music industry heavyweights Kelly Griffin from BET and Clyde Duffie from Nashville-based D3 Entertainment as well as local judges Tony Bari and Sheila Smith.

Mr Griffin said: “I finally had a goose bump moment. You came out and said ‘Look at me I'm a diva on this stage with this dress’.”

Mr Griffin was so impressed after her first performance he didn’t need to see a second, declaring “I want to talk after this.”

Mr Duffie said that as Ms Hamilton went for the high note he thought “Please hit it and you hit it. There are similarities between you and Jordin sparks.”

The judges went on to say: “You were excellent. You performed honesty and with conviction” and “I'm very happy with your performance.”

Miss Hamilton was one of five finallists named, along with Jesse Seymour, Jessica Hayward, Rajiv Mallory, and Mckenzie Hassell.

All four of them had their moments in the opening round, which brought some of the audience to give them a standing ovation.

Both Mallory and Seymour were attempting to become the first males to win Bermuda Idol, and both brought swagger to the stage.

Mallory, dressed in a black shirt and pants with an accompanying red jacket, had ladies swooning as he sang Big Daddy Kane’s ‘Somebody’s been sleeping in my bed’.

The judges said: “You looked good and you were very confident... but at the end you seemed to lose focus.”

“You came out very confident. You came out with cool points. You connected with the people, but you were pitchy. I liked the way you delivered it.

“You have stage presence I know you're going to make it somewhere.

“You may not be my favourite singer but you have a lot of swag and I want to hang out with you. Your swag was bigger than the song. Now it's about honing the craft.”

Seymour’s swag was just as impressive and left more than one woman fanning herself to protect from the heat he was bringing.

Strutting across the stage in red pants and black shirt with polka dots, Seymour brought his own burning passion to Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let's get it on’.

The judges said: “You took a Marvin Gaye song and turned it into a Jesse Seymour song.

“I loved the arrangement you did. You worked the stage. Your vocals were powerful

“You had me as soon as you walked in. It's so hard to take a Marvin Gaye song and make it your own.

“Player, I dig you. When I think of superstars you want to hang out with, you have that. I love your vocal ability. I'd love to hear more stuff from you.”

Miss Hassell was the youngest contest at 12-years-old. She came out like a diva-in-the-making with her black and white dress. She sang ‘Let it Go’ from the Disney smash hit Frozen.

The judges said: “I love what you're wearing and you commanded that stage like a champion

“At 12-years-old you have so much more to give us.

“You were very confident.

“You have an innocent Disney-Macys smile. You were nervous, but you did it.”

Hayward was the first contestant to who looked like a contender to take the Bermuda Idol crown when she came out third in the opening round with an opera song in Italian that had the audience mesmerized with its breathtaking beauty.

Hayward looked lovely as she stood at the mic in her long black evening gown.

The judges said: “I felt your stage presence was appropriate.

“I was lost in your translation, but in a good way.

“I was blown away. I really wish I knew Italian, but I can feel it.

“It was moving it gave me the ability to close my eyes and go to... paradise.”

The five finallists came back out for a second song with no additional comments from the judges before the winner was announced.

Miss Hassell was the second runner-up and while Seymour was named the first runner-up.

There was a moment of tension as Hayward and Hamilton stood next to each other. When Hamilton’s name was called she leaned forward, cradling her hands in her face.

Afterwards, she told the Bermuda Sun: “I feel amazing; I feel blessed and grateful; very grateful. I feel incredibly overwhelmed and honoured.”

She said that thoughts of entering Bermuda Idol had crossed her mind many times before but this year she was determined to give it her all.

“For many years, my friends and family have been trying to get me to do it for years and years and years, but this year I was like ‘You know what? This is my year and I’m going to go for it.” And I did it.”

She said one of the determining factors was Hayward felt “I’ve kind of reached my peak as far as what I can do in Bermuda. This was the only mountain I haven’t quite climbed so I wanted to come out and do my thing.”

Bermuda Idol was put on by Inter-Island Communications, which owns radio stations HOTT 1075 and Magic 102.7