There definitely was a fire in Christian Wossilek’s heart Saturday as he performed Adele’s hit song “Rolling in the Deep” and left Birmingham as the overall state winner in the Alabama Talent Hunt.

Wossilek, the son of Joey and Kay Wossilek of Andalusia, started his quest last year and quickly moved up through the ranks – taking first place in all five rounds of the top 40 middle school category. The win at Saturday’s finale earned him a two-year recording contract and the distinction of being featured on a compilation CD of the event’s 10 category winners.

Sponsored by the Alabama Talent Co., the competition is designed to expose the abundance of untapped talent within the state of Alabama. There were a total of five rounds of competition with five age categories: elementary, middle, high school, young adult and adult. The competition started with 186 contestants. At Saturday’s finale, 34 competed.

Wossilek said he never thought he’d make it to the top tier, let alone win, after judge’s comments following the first round of competition.

“The judges were so negative in the first round,” he said. “They said I was going to go through voice changes and I should come back and try out next year. But, I wasn’t stopping.”

They couldn’t have been more wrong in their opinion, it turns out. Wossilek earned the highest score ever in the whole competition – a 99.85 – and his perseverance paid off.

“I get excited now when I get on stage,” Wossilek said. “It gives me a rush. No butterflies at all. In fact, my mom and dad get more nervous than I do.”

A lot of that confidence is thanks to the 40 or so “Christian groupies,” he said.

“I guess that’s what you could call them,” he said of the group that traveled and supported him throughout the competition. “I can’t thank the people enough who supported me.”

And believe it or not, Wossilek didn’t catch any slack for singing a girl’s song during the finals.

“The judges loved it,” he said. “They said they loved how I took it and made it my own. (Adele, a British pop singer) fits my singing style perfectly – soulful and belting.”

As part of the deal, Wossilek will now work one-on-one with an agent, who will help in booking performances – and maybe, just maybe – garnering the attention of a big time record label.

“I think that God has given the ability to play and sing. I love it and the audience can feel that I love. This is what I want to do with my life.”

Wossilek said he will soon go on tour with all the competition’s top winners. First stop – hopefully – Andalusia.