Jory Zechner is The Next Star.
The 15-year-old from Nipigon was declared the winner of the YTV singing competition during Sunday night’s live finale at Canada’s Wonderland, after 3.5 million votes were cast across the country.
She was one of six finalists who had a chance to win the seventh season of the popular under-15 competition, the country’s longest running televised singing series.
For Jory, who counts Avril Lavigne and Demi Lovato among two of her inspirations, this is the next step in pursuing something she has always enjoyed.
“Even before I could talk I was humming and dancing around the house. It’s just always been a passion of mine,” she said recently in an interview in Thunder Bay.
“I started taking lessons when I was six or seven and I’ve always just loved it. I would go in the music festival here in Thunder Bay and different competitions and I just loved it. People started telling me, ‘Hey, you’re pretty good.’ And I was like, ‘Really?’
Family and friends back home in Nipigon gathered to watch the results unveiled life and jubilation ensued when she was announced as the winner.
She originally caught the attention of the show after driving more than 10 hours for an audition, wowing judges and producers with her voice and guitar.
Jory then captured the hearts of the viewers with her blue-streaked hair and her rendition of Canadian songbird Serena Ryder’s What I Wouldn’t Do.
She performed her first single, Up to Us, live during the finale. The song is also available on iTunes.
Jory will receive a recording contract, a new Ephiphone Masterbuilt acoustic guitar and a $5,000 shopping spree as prizes.
Past winners of the show include Juno Award nominees and platinum selling artists Victoria Duffield and Alyssa Reid.
