‘This was the hardest year’: Fierce competition at Huntsville’s Got Talent 2025

Paige Meunier, in a sparkling green ballgown, stepped into the spotlight, paused, and then flawlessly delivered a beautiful aria with such power and skill it made audience members gasp.

The Top 10 Finalists for Huntsville’s Got Talent 2025 took to the Algonquin Theatre stage on Saturday, February 1, to cheers and applause from an energetic and supportive crowd.

Meunier, an opera singer, earned a spot in the finals with her first-round performance, The Girl in 14G. The contemporary opera combined comedic lyrics with narrative verse, opera, jazz, and belting sections. She then clinched the Grand Prize with her second-round performance, Quando me’n vo’ from Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Boheme.

Meunier, a vocal coach and owner of Muskoka Music Centre, who had no previous paid performance experience, said she had fun and hoped her performance shared the value of music education.

“Get those lessons, go to that school, find that teacher, find that mentor,” she said. “It will always make you better.” Her musical education continues, too.

Meunier praised her fellow Top 10 Finalists.

“Wow – they were amazing,” she said. “It feels really good to be in a community where so many different styles of music are celebrated.”

Her competition was fierce.

Mae Reid, a guitarist-vocalist and high school student, earned Second Place with passionate and powerful performances of The Gold by Pheobe Bridgers and Take Me to Church by Hozier.

Christine Robitaille, a musical theatre vocalist and singer-songwriter, had the audience in awe and tears with an original piece about her personal journey with autism, Always Gonna Be Different, the performance of which she dedicated to her mother, who had lost a battle with pancreatic cancer in December 2024. She then offered a powerful second-round performance, Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked, to win Third Place.

Other performances featured folk, pop, country, rock, alternative rock, musical theatre, and metal core.

Andre Wahl, a music producer and Canadore College instructor, said, as a judge, he found the 2025 contest the toughest competition yet. He applauded each of the Top 10 Finalists.

He noted the annual competition mattered not only because it showcased the incredible range and skill of the performers, but also because it built community spirit.

“The bios of the people who are performing, and the people who are sitting beside me at the judges’ table, are extraordinary,” said Wahl. “In every corner of our community are extraordinary people – and these are our neighbours.”

So too were those in the audience.

“A lot of this event is about coming to see who are your neighbours – and how we can share a moment together,” he said.

He said he hoped the event played a part in inspiring community members to consider their own talents and how to contribute them to the community, too.

Special guest performers included 2024 Huntsville’s Got Talent winner Isla-Maria Corbeil, former contestant Coulter White, and local musician Zack Fitzsimmons, who performed an original piece, called Labels, that advocated for the inclusion of community members with disabilities.

The audience broke into cheers and standing ovations several times.

The nonprofit event raised more than $20,000 for Community Living Huntsville’s affordable housing initiatives for people and families who access the not-for-profit organization’s services.

“Every dollar raised through Huntsville’s Got Talent will go directly toward our housing initiatives, creating opportunities for people to thrive in a community that values dignity, belonging, and inclusion,” said Jennifer Jerrett, event organizer and Community Engagement Specialist for Community Living Huntsville. “We’re working toward a society where everyone, with and without disability, has a place, feels valued, and can thrive.”

A community, said Jerrett, must remove barriers to basic needs, like affordable housing, “and ensure that inclusion is not just an idea but a lived reality.”

• Related story: Why Support for Community Living Huntsville Matters: A Family’s Story

Huntsville’s Got Talent is a nonprofit competition that brings community together to celebrate local talent and raise funds for charity. Funds raised support Community Living Huntsville. Find more information at www.huntsvillesgottalent.com.