After making it to the top four, D.C. native Markette Smith was sadly eliminated Wednesday from the "Coast-to-Coast Co-host Search" for Live! With Kelly. 

Continue reading

Earlier, Smith chatted with ABC7's Cynne Simpson about this once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

“Every time I listen to the [competition] video … I remind myself why I’m here. I love entertaining people, making people laugh and they seem to like it too,” Smith said.

She also said she never imagined her audition video would have landed her a top spot in the national competition.

“I shot it in one take and then I edited it and then I sent it in - all in 15 minutes - and I went about my day,” she said.

Unfortunately, Smith didn't make it to the next round of the competition, but vows to live everyday likes it's her last.

“My birthday is July 24th and it would be such a great birthday because less than a year ago I actually had 13 fibroid tumors removed from my uterus,” she said. “ … and when I went through that experience I said … I’m going to live like there’s no tomorrow … and go after what makes me happy in my life.”