Krishaa Motycka didn’t expect to win the CarmelFest Has Talent competition.
“To be honest, I was really surprised,” she said. “I thought everyone else did a great job.”
Motycka sang “Fly Me to the Moon” July 3 at the Gazebo stage to win the 13-16 age division.
Motycka, who will be a junior at Carmel High School in August, will be in Ambassadors, the mixed show choir, and Select Sound this school year. She was in Accents, the all-female show choir, and Select Sound as a sophomore
This was her first appearance in CarmelFest Has Talent.
“We moved to Carmel in December 2022, and I had not heard about CarmelFest, but I did do Midtown’s Got Talent last year,” Motycka said.
Motycka earned $300 for her CarmelFest Has Talent victory. John Paul Pack, Carmel, earned $200 for placing second and Henry Martinson, Indianapolis, placed third. The prize money was the same for all three divisions.
Pack finished second for the third consecutive year. He sang “Life Goes On” by Ed Sheeran.
“Everyone is super supportive and the sound people are great,” said Pack, a homeschooled sophomore who trains at En Pointe Indiana Ballet in Noblesville.
Motycka’s younger sister, Saanvi, placed second in the 12-and-under division. Saanvi, 12, will be a seventh-grader at Carmel Middle School,
The group Akira and the Claras won the 12-and-under division. The piano-playing Carmel girls were Akira Rana, 7, Clara Papazian, 7, and Clara Moy, 8. Pelé Zeller, Carmel, was third.
Brionna Coats, Indianapolis, was victorious in the 17-and older division. J’Lan Stewart, Kokomo, took second and sisters Jenna and Jacey Green, Columbus, placed third.
Coats, 26, who sang the “Queen of the Night” aria from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” previously placed second in the talent contest in 2019.
“I took a long break, so this is my first time in a few years performing on stage,” Coats said. “I was so nervous. I’m really happy about this. Everyone sounded amazing.”
