Performing the song “For Good” from the popular musical “Wicked,” junior Christine Silikowski and sophomore Lexi Johnson competed in the Minnesota State Fair singing contest this summer. The talented girls started off by placing first in their division and overall in the Hennepin County Fair, providing them with the opportunity to perform on the State Fair stage.

Both Johnson and Silikowski had participated in the Hennepin County Fair separately in past years and decided to try performing together this year. The girls enjoyed their time together and took advantage of each other’s support in their times of nervousness before they sang. “We have a sassy handshake for before we perform,” said Silikowski and Johnson.

Performing for a crowd of over 100 spectators at the State Fair, Christine and Lexi competed for the chance to sing at the Grand Stand. “I get pretty nervous before I go on stage, but once I start singing, all the nerves go away and I have so much fun,” said Silikowski.

Both girls agreed that their excitement was almost unbearable as they celebrated their best performance of the song together. “It was so weird having all of those people watching you. They didn’t come to see a big show; they came to see what we were doing. It was like being famous for three minutes,” said Silikowski.

When it came to judging, the girls were up against eight other acts. The range of talent and the choices of music were very dissimilar, but the girls agreed that every performer was very talented.

The two girls did not end up placing or moving onto the final round in the Grand Stand, but they were both pleased with how well they had done all together. “Even though we didn’t place, how good we felt overall was good compensation,” said Johnson.