Jessica Palmeri Finishes Top 10 in Unsigned Talent Contest

Not everyone can be the American Idol.

For East Meadow resident Jessica Palmeri, 20, Mercy College's "Discovered" unsigned artist competition was the next best thing. Although she didn't come out victorious, Palmeri finished in the top 10 in the contest that initially featured more than 200 submissions.

"It was awesome," Palmeri said. "I had a lot of fun, and it was something I had a lot of support with."

Palmeri is one of the performers whose video performances waschosen online by the public as the best, from more than 200 individual submissions. Each "Discovered" finalist—each of whom will be performing live on the Mercy stage on April 30—is vying for the chance to win a professionally produced album, with the help of a talented team of producers, engineers and studio musicians.

“By harnessing the power and reach of the Internet, we have been able to generate a terrific online response to Discovered -- and the quantity of submissions and the caliber of talent that we have attracted in our first year of the competition is extremely exciting,” said Paul Steinman, Director of Mercy College’s Music Industry and Technology Program, which sponsored the contest. 

After initially submitting a video in January, Palmeri, a graduate of , received votes from friends and family, and she garnered enough support to sing in front of a panel of judges, who Palmeri said were all representatives of Mercy College. Palmeri and all the other finalists were pampered like stars before their performances.

"We got our nails and hair done," Palmeri said. "Then we got to work with the judges."

Palmeri is currently working on her Associates Degree at Nassau Community College.

"I didn't know that I'd get this far," Palmeri said. "It was great to meet all of those great people and sing on stage."