COOS BAY — With back-to-back finishes as the top scorer in the first two weeks of the Bay Area Teen Idol competition, Alyssa Birrer has established herself as the one to beat.

And with performances that pleased the Egyptian Theatre audience as much as Birrer’s did, Star Moralez has positioned herself as the competitor to watch.

Birrer was last year’s runner-up, while Moralez finished fourth. The two have set themselves apart early on but historically, nearly all performers show growth over the course of the competition and there can be surprises.

In a close contest Thursday, the difference between first and second may have come down to a pair of gloves and a skirt. The contest does not disclose the actual scores or the order in which the contestants finished.

Appearance and presentation are two of the nine categories on which the contestants are rated, and as the departing crowd milled outside the Egyptian on Thursday evening, there was speculation that Birrer’s costume had put her over the top.

Contestants wear identical T-shirts throughout the first half of the competition to lessen the impact of the appearance-related categories and to ease them into the later stages of the competition when costumes grow ever more elaborate. But even during the T-shirt phase, there still is room to tailor the outfit to the performance.

Birrer, who wore gloves for her performance of the Pussycat Dolls’ “Sway,” wasn’t the only one taking advantage of that limited freedom, though she was the only one in a skirt.

Judges also complimented Destyni Fuller on her jeans, which were decorated with flags and stars for her performance of a patriotic song, “For Freedom.”

Like most contestants, Moralez wore jeans for her performance of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.”

Others giving promising performances included returning contestants Mercedese Mannon and Caitlin Mansfield and newcomers Fuller and Mariah Rogers, sister of 2006 Idol winner Samantha Rogers.

About 300 people filled the Egyptian to watch the 17 contestants perform songs of their choice and four group numbers. The group performances in particular were noticeably more polished than in the early weeks of past years’ competitions. Contestant coordinator Stephanie Kilmer credited Marty Crouse for working with the contestants in group rehearsals.

Making the judges’ work a little easier, one contestant eliminated herself from the competition before Thursday’s round. Danni Kimball had to drop out because her family was moving out of the area, master of ceremonies Mike the Bear of K-DOCK Radio announced during the event.

That left only one of two eliminations for the night to judges Kim Handsaker, Kevin Stufflebean and Dennis Lindall.

Blaze Jones forgot the words to “Concrete Angel” by Martina McBride, struggling through the first part of her performance with the help of fellow contestants, who sang them for her from their seats in the audience. Jones recovered and finished the song, but she was not able to save her place in the running for the Idol crown.