Senior Maggie Manning competed in the finals of the KC Superstar competition at the Kauffman Center on Aug. 28. Sponsored by the Jewish Community Center, the competition looks for talented singers in the Kansas City area that are seniors or younger during the past school year.

At BVNW, Maggie Manning sings in the Chorale and Chamber Singers choir ensembles. Singers from the BVNW Choir have won the KC Superstar competition for the past three years.

Although this is one of the reasons why she competed, Manning said another reason was the atmosphere of the competition.

Manning said music is in her family. She said she grew up singing and participating in musicals because both her parents were involved in music programs. Her father, Alan Manning, said his daughter was in musicals as young as the age of 5.

“There wasn’t a time where [Maggie] wasn’t singing or doing something with music because she was just around it all her life,” Alan said.

Manning advanced through auditions and semi-finals, allowing her to compete in the final competition of the top ten singers. Judges scored each performance, narrowed it down to the top four singers and then the audience decided who would win via voting.

During the competition, she performed “All I Ask” by Adele.

“I was really drilling down on things that I needed to remember,” Manning said. “The [last] time that I performed it was the best time and I was the happiest with it.”

Although Manning did not place in the top four competitors, she won a $500 scholarship. The judges did not announce the results of fifth through tenth place.

Manning said that even though she didn’t think she was going to win before she competed, she knew that making it to the finals of this singing competition was enough to change how she views challenges and competitions in the future.

“In a competition, nobody should have enemies. Everybody can reach their goals but don’t trample people to get there,” Manning said.