On March 16 temperatures rose as nervous and excited students trickled into Sykes Theater and awaited their turn to perform onstage. All were hopeful of beingpicked to sing in Karaoke Showdown V a presentation by Student Activities Council. The event will take place on Tuesday, March 29, at 8 p.m. in Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall in Philips Memorial Building. The host for the night will be Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block and “The Surreal Life” on VH1. Every Karaoke Showdown MC has been someone our generation can remember growing up with. SAC committee members Kara Jessel and Erica Seidner have been busy planning the event. Jeff Gerstein, Coordinator of Campus Activites, was humble and would not take any credit. He said that SAC is, “100 percent student driven, initiated, and run.” Kara Jessel mentioned that she is always excited to improve the event every year.
“It just keeps getting better and better through these five years,” she said. When everyone was seated in Sykes Theater before the auditions started, Brad Sorrels, President of SAC, welcomed the students. He eased everybody’s nerves by telling them that whether they win the contest or not, it’s just about having fun and enjoying the whole experience. “It’s like a light hearted ‘American Idol’ contest; however, there’s no Simon,”he joked.
The atmosphere was cozy and comfortable with people spread out in an intimate setting. As all 20 people went onstage at random selection, warm applause accompanied great performances. Afterward, 10 advanced onto performing at the big event. Immediately, as the music began and the screen displayed the words, each person seemed to get a sense of calm on his or her face and with a strong voice got into the groove of the song.
John Carpenter was one such person. Not only did he get into the groove, but he came dressed in full 80’s attire, complete with headband and all for his rendition of “Jesse’s Girl.” Chris Dailey, a junior majoring in music education, sounded identical to Josh Groban for his song, “You Raise Me Up.” This was his second year auditioning; he came in second place last year at Karaoke Showdown IV. He is hoping everyone will come out and support the show. Before Regina Hubbard went onstage to sing “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, she said she wanted to have a great performance so she could meet Jordan Knight.
Trying to be “nice and smooth” was what Ronnie Eichner said he wanted to be when he performed “Nice and Slow” by Usher. This was his first time under the spotlight, and he was ecstatic but played it cool. There will definitely be a lot of talent to look forward to and many friends to be made behind the scenes as everyone will be going through the same experience. Come out and see who you know in the show. You may be surprised to find that quiet girl from your history class has another side to her.
Be sure to support SAC for bringing all these cool and fun events to our school. Tickets are only $3 at SSI and are on sale now.