Nine singers, three judges, a Terrace full of fans and a cougar. Mix in some bright lights, poor jokes and a decibel meter and you've got the perfect setting for a BYU Idol Finale.

The nine contestants in Wednesday night's show were chosen from the three semifinal rounds of BYU Idol held earlier this semester. What differed from the semi-final competitionwas the special guest judge - Cosmo the Cougar. Cosmo's "interpreter," former Divine Comedy member Will Rubio, offered translation for the BYU mascot's pantomiming and acrobatics as well as his own comic relief for the night.

"I went to school in the sprawling mountains of Nepal at a monastery run by cougars," Rubio said, joking that that was where he learned to speak "cougar."

No interpretation was needed for the performers' songs, ranging from pop to country. Each singer brought his or her own style, wardrobe and stage presence to the performance. One contestant, Elicia Merwin, got some extra help with her stage presence from Cosmo. He danced alongside Merwin during her performance of "Can't Fight the Moonlight" by Leann Rimes. All that attended would agree ultimately, it was her vocals and the cheering of her loyal fans that landed her in the top two at the end of the night.

Instead of calling or texting votes like "American Idol," a decibel meter was used to measure the volume of the fans' cheering, which was then used to decide the winners.

Merwin had some loud friends, as did Tyler Zollinger. The advertising major from Provo was tied with Merwin for first place after the initial voting.

Zollinger sang "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban, saying he knew the potential of the song.

"I felt that it was a song that I related to a lot," Zollinger said. "I could sing with power and communicate the message to the audience."

He seemed to have no problem communicating to the audience and it communicated back with loud screams and cheering.

Also among the final five was Jake Hunsaker, a business management major who performed "Sway with Me," a song recently popularized by Michael Bublé. The judges said he was "very charming" and "the closest thing to Idol material so far." They weren't lying. Hunsaker was awarded a $25 gift certificate to the BYU Bookstore as the Judges' Choice at the end of the night. Zollinger was awarded a $50 gift certificate to the bookstore as the second place winner after a tiebreaker revote between him and Merwin.

Merwin, a history major from McAllen, Texas, won $100 to the BYU Bookstore and her title to bragging rights. Next on her list of things to do is buy her loyal fans some candy - she promised them bubble gum if she won.

Copyright Brigham Young University 11 Apr 2008