Stanley was one of seven young performers on the PAX-TV show that aired Sunday night.

The Buna seventh-grader was given a 9.6 after she sang "Unchained Melody."

And when she hit the high notes, the audience cheered and waved their hands from side to side.

All three of the celebrity judges - Scarlett Pomers from "Reba," Daryl Sabara from "Spy Kids" and Bobb'e J. Thompson from "The Tracy Morgan Show" - complimented Stanley for the crescendo performance.

Another youngster ended the night with a winning score of 9.8.

"It was an honor to be there, and it was a lot of fun. It was my first time in Hollywood," said Stanley, who celebrated by hosting a viewing party with family, friends and a king cake.

Stanley is a "Spy Kids" buff and has seen all of the movies. Somehow that tidbit of information came out during the show, spurring the movie actor to come from behind the judges table and meet his admirer up close.

"He was getting a little close there," her father Keith Stanley said after the show aired.

In fact, with a little live-studio cajoling that the viewing audience didn't see, the actor shook her hand and then gave her a hug.

"I thought you did a fantastic job. I just couldn't stop looking at your eyes though," Sabara said.

BUNA -- Seventh-grader Mariah Stanley munched on pecan pie and slurped down a Sprite at a Buna restaurant this week.

Dressed in her "J-Lo" outfit of light blue sweats and a Supergirl T-shirt, the 12-year-old listed what's going on in her life: a UIL prose reading competition Monday and a pep rally Thursday.

Not to forget her national television debut today, of course.

The Buna singer is one of seven performers appearing on "America's Most Talented Kids," which airs on cable channel PAX-TV at 6 p.m. She will sing "Unchained Melody."

Tonight's episode is the 11th in the 13-week series. For the past 10 weeks the Stanley family has watched the show, and this week they'll be watching Mariah.

"It was just like a regular performance, except we have people that are filming you and then you've got like the makeup stylists and hair stylist," she said of her experience. "It's really cool."

The Stanleys and one of Mariah's friends went to Hollywood in August to tape the episode at California State University's Luckman Theater.

"America's Most Talented Kids" is hosted by comedian and actor Dave Coulier, who played Joey on the series "Full House," according to a PAX-TV spokeswoman.

Each week seven youngsters between the ages of 3 and 15 display their talent in front of a live audience and are judged by a panel of celebrity judges including Scarlett Pomers ("Reba"), Daryl Sabara ("Spy Kids") and Bobb'e J. Thompson ("The Tracy Morgan Show").

Mariah said she doesn't normally get nervous when performing, but her television experience was a little different.

"I knew it was being broadcast ... and that my friends would watch it and all that stuff," she said. "I wanted to do my best. I was kind of nervous about that."

Mariah was one of 91 children chosen for the show from more than 70,000 who auditioned, her father, Keith Stanley, said.

However, the family has had to remain mum about the competition's outcome.

The show was one of the many highlights during the past year for Mariah, who first sang publicly after a spur-of-the-moment performance at a local beauty pageant when she was 7.

Mariah Stanley, 12, of Buna will sing "Unchained Melody" Sunday night on PAX TV's "America's Most Talented Kids." Pax TV is aired locally on KPXB Channel 49, channel 181 on the Dish Network and channel 255 on Direct TV.

Comedian/actor Dave Coulier, who played Uncle Joey on the hit series "Full House," hosts the show that gives youngsters between the ages of 3 and 15 a chance to show off their budding talents.

With a chance for stardom up for grabs, participants perform in front of a live studio audience and are evaluated by a panel of celebrity judges.

In addition to a cash prize, every weekly winner receives a Les Paul Classic Gibson guitar and a karaoke machine.

BUNA _ Coach Noah Boyette remembers a young Mark Nesler who played baseball, football and ran track.  On Saturday, he lined up for Nesler's autograph.

Nesler, 42, a Nashville, Tenn.-based singer and songwriter and one of Buna's more famous sons, performed for a standing-room-only crowd in the high school's old gymnasium during Saturday's 32nd annual Redbud Festival. In front of the gymnasium was a flat wooden board painted and dressed as a guitar player, with a sign at "his" feet that read: "Welcome home Mark Nesler."

"A lot of people that have moved out of town all come (back) and go to Redbud Festival and see each other," said Lori Mixson, Buna Chamber of Commerce president. "It's a coming together of the people."

Boyette, a Buna Elementary School physical education teacher, and his wife Pat, a 5th grade English teacher, purchased one of Nesler's CDs and one of Jennifer Hanson's, Nesler's wife, who also performed.  The Boyettes attend the festival every year, but seeing Nesler was a bonus. "He's a hometown boy," Noah Boyette said. "He's a very talented young man. He's got a great future."

"There is a lot of emotion in here today because people are saying `he's ours'," she said of Nesler. Nesler has not performed in his hometown in more than a decade, she said.

Despite some brief rain Saturday, a parade Saturday morning meandered through town for more than an hour.

Organizers estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 people attended the festival.

The festival was also an opportunity for Bryan Welch to spend time with family. Welch, a chief electronics technician with the U.S. Navy, is based in Fort Worth but his wife, Tana, and two young children live in Buna. Most people know everybody," he said of the town and its festival. "It's like a local gathering."