It shouldn’t have surprised anyone when Brieanne Jansen rocked the stage Wednesday night for the third week of Manteca Idol’s opening rounds at Chez Shari.

After all, Jansen made huge inroads into the local music scene last year with her deep run into the Idol competition – a cherry on top of her breakout year that included a part in a nationally-released movie.

An early childhood trauma essentially left her mute, and it wasn’t until she approached her mother with the idea of trying out for the Kit Kittredge movie series that she had started to break out of her shell.

And when she belted out Dolly Parton’s “Better Get to Livin’” during her opening round we all got to see a girl that you’d be hard pressed to ever figure out was at one time under a shell – using just about every inch of the stage to entertain the dozens in attendance who turned out to support the brave contestants as they tried their hand at making their way to the next round.

Just about everybody in the room quickly realized that this was one singer that easily is going to claim one of the three instant final berths – something that the judges agreed upon when the end of the night rolled around.

But it wasn’t just Jansen who wowed the audience in the last week of preliminary performances where finals berths were available to those who earned the necessary marks from the judges – this week featuring Mike Torres Jr. as a guest judge.

And what would a night on stage be without a little bit of comedy.

Mickey Lee walked out with a ukulele in hand that he had hoped to play during his rendition of Jason Mraz’ “I’m Yours” but quickly ditched the Hawaiian instrument and relied instead on his vocal range to impress both the judges and the onlookers who weren’t shy with their approval when he wrapped up the folksy track.

If Mraz ever comes down with a bad case of laryngitis, at least he knows he has somebody that’s willing to step in to fill his shoes – hitting all of the song’s notes and having a blast while he was doing it.

Lee too earned the nod of the judges and will go on to the finals to compete against the stiff competition that has only been getting stiffer as the weeks wear on and more people enter the pool of the best-of-the-best.

While Casey Rico had a lot to live up to when she stepped out behind the microphone – following last year’s Idol winner Christine Acosta who performed the half-time festivities – she used her wide vocal range to garner the last finals berth with Nicole C. Mullen’s “Call on Jesus” that put a unique spin to your standard religious track and had the attention of everybody in the room.

With three no-shows, Idol contestant Lindy Webb – who wowed everyone with her version of Sugarland’s “Stay” – was guaranteed a spot in next week’s Wild Card round where those who weren’t guaranteed finals slots will get one more chance to continue on with the competition.

Joining Webb next Wednesday, Sept. 2, will be Dawn Thomas, Gelezza Idolyentes, Sadaf Ahari, Richard McDonnell, Trisha Checketts, Laura Scarborough, Amy Dias, and Lady Liz.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at Chez Shari located upstairs in the Manteca Park Golf Course Clubhouse. Admission for friends and family that haven’t already purchased a season pass is $5 per person. For more information visit www.mantecaidol.com, or contact the Boys and Girls Club at 239-5437. All proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Manteca and Lathrop.