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ATTLEBORO - The Hottest Act in Town turned out to be a class act, too, when the winner of Saturday's local talent competition gave his prize to a rival who came in second place.

Jason Hair-Wynn, 25, an Attleboro resident, took top honors at the contest, part of Saturday's one-day weekend revival of the now-defunct downtown carnival Wednesday Night Market. He beat out a field of 21 other contestants that was eventually winnowed down to six finalists, all men.

Organizers said they were pleased with this year's Hottest Act in Town competition. The event was a crowd favorite in the last three years of the old Wednesday Night Market, but it got off to a slow start this year when few people showed up to early auditions.

Hair-Wynn - an HIV counselor in Taunton by day, an actor-singer-choreographer by night - clinched the prize with his brassy rendition of the '70s standard "New York, New York," backed up by the orchestration made famous by Frank Sinatra.

"I didn't expect it. I'm grateful," Hair-Wynn said shortly after he was declared the winner by the show's emcee, nationally-known Norton comedienne Andrea Henry, who presented him with the contest's first prize: a 12-hour session at Saucer Sounds Recording Studios in Norton and a head-shot photography package from The Sun Chronicle. "I think more credit is due to people who can play and sing," Hair-Wynn added. He then made good on that belief by exchanging prizes with the runner-up, 19-year-old Phil DiCanzio of Foxboro, who sang and played guitar.

DiCanzio had won a six-hour session at Saucer Sounds and a head-shot package with his final-round performance of "Bless the Broken Road," which was a big hit on the country charts for the band Rascal Flatts in 2005.

Hair-Wynn, who plans on recording monologues to use for voice-over auditions during his six hours in the studio, said he offered to switch prizes with DiCanzio because he thought a singer-guitarist might be able to use the extra time more effectively.

DiCanzio, a sophomore architecture major at Roger Williams University, said he started singing at a young age. In fact, he's a veteran of the Hottest Act contest; he also tried out four years ago, when he was only 15.

"It feels great," DiCanzio said afterwards, adding that he was "thrilled" to come in second.