AUBURN – Rowena Demers was sure she had what it took to become an American Idol.

Looks.

Moves.

And certainly the talent.

But in the ladies’ room at the Auburn Mall – where the acoustics were perfect for pop songs a cappella – her anxiety was starting to show. Singing Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Going Down,” the 25-year-old’s voice was the perfect mix of smooth and sultry. Until it cracked at a high note.

“I’m nervous,” she confided to her friends and several mall patrons waiting in line for the sink.

The tiny mistake was forgivable in the mall bathroom. On stage, it could cost her two plane tickets to California and an audition for the hit TV show “American Idol.”

She’d made it through the morning cattle call. She’d made it to the finals. Now she just had to make it past her own nerves.

Said Demers before climbing on stage, “I will just cross my fingers and pray.”

Demers was among 20 young singers who battled nerves and high notes Saturday afternoon for their chance at an “American Idol” audition. Sponsored by radio station WJBQ 97.9, Fox 23 and the Sun Journal, the contest pitted some of the state’s most talented 16- to 28-year-old singers against each other, narrowing the contestants from 200 to 20 to 12.

A single winner would receive two tickets to San Francisco, a three-night stay in an hotel and a guaranteed October audition before an American Idol producer.

Demers, a mother of two and a recent cosmetology school graduate, knew she had to try out.

“This is my passion,” she said. “When I don’t sing I’m not the happiest I could be.”

About 200 people showed up for the morning’s open auditions. By 2:30, judges had narrowed the field to 20. They would perform for one minute in front of hundreds of mall customers and a panel of judges, including two music producers.

In a small, roped-off area backstage, some of the 20 paced anxiously, practiced their high notes or sipped from bottles of water.

The first singer, a 17-year-old from Raymond, performed “I’m Going Down.”

It was the song Dermers was going to sing, the one she had practiced in the bathroom.

“I’m singing it anyway,” Demers said after a short consultation with her friends. “I’ll do it my way.”

A few minutes later, she did, hitting all the high notes and earning thunderous applause from the crowd.

Others weren’t so lucky. A couple had trouble keeping tempo without a music backup. Others had problems with the microphone, which crackled and popped when a singer hit a high note.

Adam Sesin, a 22-year-old from North Berwick, earned applause for an enthusiastic performance. But he couldn’t stop worrying. He’d strutted the stage and played to the crowd. Did he go overboard?

“I might have put too much energy into the energy,” he said, collapsing into a chair backstage. “We’ll see.”

Nacha Thomas, a 28-year-old from Kennebunk, was just happy she had made it at all.

Wearing black dress pants and silver sneakers, she ran into the morning cattle call with just minutes to spare. One of 20 finalists, her song, “Blue Skies” by Ella Fitzgerald, earned some of the loudest cheers.

“You know what? When it’s right, it’s right,” she said.

By 4 p.m., judges had narrowed the field to eight. Four others, winners of a radio competition, were included in the final 12 automatically.

Demers, Sesin and Thomas all made it. They would perform again.

And Demers would do it without a microphone.

“It was crackling,” she said. “It was distorting me severely.”

Sesin toned down his enthusiasm, choosing a slower song for his second performance. Thomas played more to the audience.

As they stood on stage together, they knew they each had a chance at the prize.

Thomas fell to her knees when her name was called.

“Oh my God!” she shouted over the applause.

A few minutes later, the hotel worker was signing autographs for little girls and planning her trip with the contest’s promoter.

Demers, who never missed a high note after that practice in the bathroom, was named runner-up.

“I’m feeling awesome,” Demers said, holding a bouquet of flowers from her friends. “It was definitely worth it. Runner-up? I’ve got no complaints.”

Several contestants said they might fly to California on their own. Their “American Idol” dreams were still alive.

Said Demers, “It might be in the cards.”