EVANSVILLE – Ellie Maxwell, a very talented young singer from Evansville, made it to the finals at the recent Rising Star Talent Competition held annually at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto.
“Ellie made it to the finals,” Steve Maxwell said of his daughter Ellie when contacted by the Recorder this past Sunday.
Ellie had been included on the list of the approximately 150 competitors in the competition, finishing in the finals. The CNE Rising Stars Competition has been in existence for 33 years. Mr. Maxwell explained, “they (CNE Rising Stars Competition) accept entries, including videos of a performance of those who are competing had in the past.”
Elli and others performed their talents on the big stage at the EnerCare Centre. She performed ‘Almost There’ from the Disney animated movie ‘The Princess and the Frog.’ She was accompanied by Alex Baran, of Providence Bay, on keyboards.
“Yes, it was really fun,” said Ellie, acknowledging, “there was a lot people in the audience, so it was a little overwhelming at first, but once I started signing everything was fine in the end. I think it was the biggest audience I’ve ever performed in front of there had to be at least a thousand people in attendance.”
As for being selected as one of the 12 finalists, “I really wasn’t sure, but I was really crossing my fingers that it would happen.”
Mr. Baran said, “this is a highly competitive event, and Ellie put on one of her best performances ever. She was fantastic.”
