'Y&R' Hunts For New Soap Star

It's up to you, Early Show viewers, to pick the next potential soap star.

All this week, talent from universities across the country auditioned for you with the help of actors from the No. 1 daytime drama, "The Young and the Restless."

So now, you be the judge. Cast your vote by clicking on the interactive at right and select your favorite male and female performances. Polls open Friday, May 21, at 9:00 a.m. and close midnight Eastern Time on Saturday night.

According to the regulars from "Y&R," all the auditions were superb. So if you still don't know who to vote for, you can review the screen tests, watch the school tryouts, read about each contestant, and even check out the scripts. They are all included in the interactive at right.

The two winners will be announced Monday on The Early Show. And they will get a role on "The Young and the Restless" next summer.

To get a recap of what the soap stars - Lauren Woodland, Greg Rikaart, Melody Thomas Scott, and Keith Hamilton Cobb - said about each student, just click on the days of the week in red below.

Monday: University of North Carolina Alexandra Villarreal and University of Maryland Benjamin Biegel

Tuesday: University of Maryland Joanna Howard and University of North Carolina Brandon Smith

Wednesday: San Francisco State University Mia Simon and Southern Methodist University Iman Nazemzadeh

Thursday: University of Minnesota Meisha Johnson and San Francisco State University Robert Crook.

Friday: Southern Methodist University Candice Patton and University of Minnesota Shawn Dow.

It was a tough decision for casting director, Marnie Saitta, to select the 10 finalists. "We have some really good kids," Saitta said after scouting the five college campuses. "I would best describe the talent pool I have seen as being surprisingly fantastic. I think the kids that turned out have been enthusiastic and passionate and talented beyond anything I could have imagined."