The Young And The Talented

Friday night on "Star Search," two winners stood out: 15-year-old Denise Hudson, who competed in the adult singer category with her rendition of the Anita Baker classic "Sweet Love," and 9-year-old Marissa Swentkowsky who wowed the judges with her unique style in the dance competition.

Denise is the youngest person to compete in the adult category and has never had a singing lesson. "I think that it was a God-given gift. So I think I was put on this earth to sing and that's what I want to do," she said on The Early Show.

Marissa's parents discovered their daughter's unique dancing ability when she was 3 years old. Since then, Marissa has been practicing every day after school and during the weekend.

"I just have a lot of control in myself. So I can hold it," said the young contortionist, noting focus kept her from being nervous during her performance Friday night, which seemed right out of Cirque de Soleil.

Marissa got a near-perfect 19 stars from the judges and the home audience upheld their decision with 16 stars. Denise got 19 stars as well from the judges and 17 from home viewers. There was a home viewer who was particularly proud of Denise's performance, her dad.

"He called, and he said that it was awesome, and everything turned out OK. So it was exciting," Denise said. Her parents divorced when she was younger, and Friday night was the first time he saw her perform.

Denise had always dreamed about performing on "Star Search." Now that she is going to the semi-finals, her hope is to continue her singing career and become a famous vocalist.

As for Marissa, "Well, I want to have my own studio and be a dancer when I grow up," she said.

Both girls said they know what they will perform next but decided to keep it a secret.

You can catch "Star Search" again this Wednesday night at 8 p.m./ET, 7 p.m. central to see who Marissa and Denise will be competing against on Friday.