When Amy Colalella got the news Wednesday that she had won the Miley Cyrus "Are You a Superstar" contest, she did what any 16-year-old girl might do.

"I cried," she says with a laugh. "I was like, 'Hallelujah, it's over!' "

Although she's a candidate now for overnight sensation, having just won a record deal, her victory in the online contest was a long haul.

Ms. Colalella, a Plum resident and a student of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, was alerted to the competition after she posted a video of herself singing on youtubeYouTube and got a message from a viewer. She entered in October 2008, along with 8,000 others, by submitting a video clip singing Demi Lovato's "Two Worlds Collide."

She was surprised when she got an e-mail back that she was in the top 50.

"Actually, the only experience I had was singing in the shower and on car rides," she says. "I went to O'Block Junior High School and they had the O'Block Idol thing and I made it to second round, but there were like five rounds after I didn't make. And then in 8th grade I auditioned for a little musical show with my friend, and she made it and I didn't."

When she got to the top 6, she was invited to meet Cyrus backstage at a concert at the Penn State Altoona campus in November.

"It was crazy," she says. "I've watched 'Hannah Montana' since I was in 7th grade, so I've been a fan of hers for five years now. I never expected to meet her and be like, 'Hey, I'm in your contest!' She's very down to earth and sweet and genuine."

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