“Elburn Idol” winner overcomes rough start

As the music for “The One That Got Away” began, 14-year-old Nicole DiSandro stepped to the microphone in front of a hometown audience at Elburn Days and fell silent. The silence was not for dramatic impact; she’d missed her cue to begin singing.

“Can I start over?” DiSandro asked the master of ceremonies. In the real American Idol, a cruel judging panel would’ve booted her off the stage. But in Elburn, you can get a second chance. DiSandro took full advantage of it by belting out an acoustic version of the love ballad.

“I think the acoustic version is especially pretty,” DiSandro said in an interview after her performance. “I wanted to do it because it’s a little different from the pop version. It puts a little twist on it, which I like.”

DiSandro made sure “Elburn Idol” wasn’t the performance that got away. She won spirited applause from the audience and the top score from the judges to win the junior division over three other contestants. DiSandro said she was able to keep her composure and knew how to handle the situation only because she’s learned from prior mistakes she’s made in her 10 years of singing and voice training.

“In the beginning, something like that would throw me off,” DiSandro said. “But I’ve been doing this for a really long time. I think now it’s just confidence. I’ve messed up real bad before, but I think that also helped. The more experience you have, it just gets better.”

DiSandro’s winning performance earned her a spot singing on the main stage Saturday night as the opening act for ARRA, a Chicago-based classic rock cover band. It would be a bigger stage and a much bigger audience, but DiSandro wasn’t nervous.

“I’m excited,” she said. “It’ll be good. Yay!”

Elburn Days continues Sunday. Fair goers can catch some of the other winners and finalists of “Elburn Idol” on the main stage throughout the day.