Jackie Evancho Gets Standing Ovation for Simply Walking on Stage

Jackie Evancho merely walked onto the Kean Theatre stage Friday night, and the crowd rose to its feet to give her a standing ovation.

The petite singing star gave her signature little wave, smiled her great big Jackie smile and her blue eyes sparkled again as she returned to the Kean Theatre in Richland Township to present an award named in her honor.

The Jackie Evancho award was created this year to honor a contestant who displayed "determination, commitment and vocal talent" in the Kean Idol Amateur Talent Contest.

Jackie was on the same stage in 2008 and 2009 as a finalist in the Kean Idol competition, which was founded by St. Barnabas Health System to benefit a free-care fund for poor and low-income patients at St. Barnabas facilities.

She went on to international stardom when she appeared last summer in "America's Got Talent" and stunned audiences with her gigantic opera voice that belied the small 10-year-old figure from which it came.

For the 2011 Kean Idol contest, she presented the award named in her honor to Madeleine O'Neil of Pine Township, who participated in the Kean Idol contest for two years or more to qualify for the award.

Interviewed backstage by Pine-Richland Patch and WPXI-TV, Jackie was the effervescent, bubbly little girl seen in performances and interviews in the months since she was the runner-up winner on "America's Got Talent."

She mentions the PBS special that she just finished filming, "Jackie Evancho: Dream With Me in Concert," that will be broadcast close to the June 14 release date for her first full-length CD.

The PBS special was filmed at Sarasota's Ringling Museum of Art and is co-hosted by her producer, David Foster.

The "Dream With Me" CD includes duets with Barbra Streisand and Susan Boyle.

Asked if she was nervous working with a star of Streisand's fame, she answered:

"I don't easily get starstruck," she said, but she admitted she was a little nervous. After all, "she's known as the legendary Barbra Streisand."

What did it feel like to present a Kean Idol award named in her honor?

"It feels really good," she said, adding that she has never had an award named after her before and it felt good to be the award giver.Watching the competition at the Kean Theatre brought back memories, she said.

"I told my mom that I wish I could do it again because it was really fun when I did it."