Age ain’t nothin’ but a number — said the first-ever Statesboro Voice winner.

Miranda Winter was crowned the Judges Choice winner during the final night of competition last month, taking home the trophy, a $500 prize and a renewed fervor to use her gifts. The 30-year-old was a bit leery about entering the contest because of her age.

Winter moved to Statesboro a little more than two years ago from Augusta when her husband took a job teaching at Statesboro High School. Although she has continued to write music, sing and play the guitar, she hasn’t sung much publicly since the move. She did, however, have a lead role in the Averitt Center’s production of “Guys and Dolls.” She said she used to sing three or four nights a week when she lived in Augusta.

“Being able to win Statesboro Voice just lets me know that I still have that talent, and I’m still able to pursue this if that’s something I want to pursue,” she said.

Statesboro Voice was a fundraiser for the Averitt Center for the Arts’ Creative Growth Campaign. The event brought in $15,000, with $6,326 of that coming from votes. The competition began on Jan 1, with the semi-finalists selected in front of a live audience on March 9. Local residents were then able to cast votes for their favorite contestants at a cost of $1 per vote in the weeks leading up to the final night of competition, which was also in front of a live audience.

She was surprised to win, since she said she always seems to come in second in competitions.

“It feels great being able to actually win and being crowned the winner in the first ever Statesboro Voice,” she said. “I’m very excited about that.”

She says she plans to keep doing what she’s doing, and says the competition has shown her that she should never stop.

“I’ve got something there that’s special,” she said.

Winter has competed before in voice competitions — she got a golden ticket during Season 14 of “American Idol” and made the trek to Hollywood, only to be cut during the first round.

Out of her comfort zone

Upon entering the Statesboro competition, Winter said she hoped her mentor, Chris Mitchell, would push her toward getting outside her comfort zone in her song choices. He did just that, suggesting she sing “The Edge of Glory,” by Lady Gaga.

“I was like, I don’t like that song. But I listened to it, and I’m like, I really don’t like this song,” she said, laughing.

But then she found an acoustic version, and she fell in love with it, and agreed to do a similar arrangement.

For her duet with Mitchell, the pair sought a song that would showcase her voice, but stay in a comfortable range for Mitchell. They chose “Tennessee Whiskey,” which they both knew.

Winter said she had a serious case of nerves on the night of the competition, and to top that off, she had to go first.

“I hate going first. I had a lot of nerves doing that,” she said, but she added that it ended up helping her.

“I felt like going first help me set the bar and the tone of what I was trying to do and accomplish in this competition,” she said.

Winter said she felt that she might be cut during the first round, but after she sang her duet with Mitchell in the second round and heard the judges’ feedback, she had the confidence to “go kill it.”

“It was tough,” she said of the competition. “There were a lot of talented people. And everybody sounded so great, they really did.”

Winter plans to use her prize money to record and release some of her original music.

“I’ve got a couple that I think are pretty good songs, and I want to get those recorded and put them out there,” she said. She also plans to continue singing in the Statesboro area.

Winter has a Facebook page for her music, Miranda Winter Music, and says anything she does will be posted there.

People’s Choice award

Jasmyn Smith took home the People’s Choice award in the competition, with nearly 3,000 votes, a number well above the rest of the competitors. Smith entered the competition with the goal of strengthening her singing skills. She said she did so, and added that the competition was very challenging.

“My coach, Brandi (Harvey), pushed me to do some things that I never thought I could do, especially in front of people. It was very challenging, but also rewarding,” she said.

Smith called the competition an emotional roller coaster, and said it was a lot of hard work. But she’d do it all again.

“It was a good experience all around. I enjoyed it,” she said.

Like Winter, Smith was very nervous on the night of the competition. But she was also excited to showcase what she’d learned and what she could do.

“Mostly, I wanted to get out there and have fun, and do the best that I could do,” she said.

Smith says she walked away from the competition with more than a prize. She has gained new experiences and new talent, and has found that she can do things now that she couldn’t do before.

“I want to start gigging around town and keep my name out there in the community,” she said.

Winter and Smith were joined in the final four by Joshua Davis, mentored by Brock Taylor, and Jordan Mathis, who was mentored by Mitchell. Joey Bielick and SydneyClaire Smith (both mentored by Jennifer Nunn), Chyann Rose (mentored by Harvey) and Will Gay (mentored by Taylor) were the remaining finalists.

The competition was sponsored by Lanier, Deal & Proctor, and Statesboro STEAM. In-kind sponsors included The Florist, Gailey Trophy and Chick-fil-A. Averitt Center Artistic Director Robert Cottle coordinated the event.