On Monday night as eight o’ clock neared the Union Dawg House was filled to absolute capacity-and the crowd just kept coming.
“We had an amazing turnout,” Campus Activities Board entertainment division head John MacArthur said. “We had so many more people than expected.”The huge crowd was gathering to witness the first performance of the ten finalists from the 2008 MSU Idol competition. MSU Idol has become a yearly affair at Mississippi State.
“It’s an annual event that we bring to campus,” Coffee House division head Sarah Duffy said. “It’s based off of the TV show American Idol.”
Like American Idol, MSU Idol begins with a private audition.
The auditions took place on Thursday, Jan. 24. Aspiring competitors were required to sing a 30-second a capella performance of a song of their choice. The top ten were chosen by a panel of six judges to compete head to head for the title of 2008’s MSU Idol.
This year’s ten finalists were Sarah Pope, Leslie Gray, Bowen Bridges, Yuri McSwain, Lauren Mott, Baleigh Barum, Ke-Standra Coleman, Robert Miller, Chasity Williams, and Mary Megan Sweatt. The finalists’ reasons for competing were quite varied.
“I’ve seen it in the past,” senior art major Leslie Gray said. “I really enjoyed it, and I thought it would be a lot of fun.”
“I’ve always wanted to do something like this,” Bowen Bridges, a sophomore marketing major, said. “It’s just one of those dreams that a lot of people always want, but you never think there will be an opportunity.”
Sophomore communication major Mary Megan Sweatt chose to participate again this year based on the great experience she had in the competition as a freshman.
Despite the fun, she says that MSU Idol can be quite a nerve-wrecking experience.
“As a freshman, coming in and seeing upper classmen and some grad students, it was really really stressful,” she said.
Monday night’s theme was ’90s pop. Future themes for the competition include songs from the movies, R&B or country, and the year of each competitor’s birth.
Despite the theme, songs chosen Monday night were quite varied. A diverse array of artists including Aerosmith, Mariah Carey and Erykah Badu were represented.
MSU Idol’s main purpose is fun, but it is quite competitive. The finalists perform each week before a panel of judges that varies from week to week. Monday night’s panel included Lyle Tate, SA President Jeremy Johnson and Samantha Musil.
The judges and the audience vote on the top performers, and each week a certain number of the competitors are cut from the finalists.
Four contestants will be cut Monday night. Next week, three will be cut. Then in the final week, one competitor will be cut, and the remaining two will face off for the title of MSU idol.
The winner will receive $300, which the Campus Activities Board encourages them to use toward a trip to an actual American Idol competition.
All top ten finalists will receive a gift basket filled with goods from local businesses.
Campus Activities Board was quite pleased with the overwhelming turnout for Monday night’s performance and, despite a necessary change of location, hopes the trend will continue.
“Next week we’re going to have to hold [the competition] in the Union Ballroom to hold the capacity,” MacArthur said.
“It just goes to show how supportive the Mississippi State campus can be of its student talent.”
The remaining competition dates are Feb. 4, Feb. 11 and Feb. 18. All competitions will take place in the Union Ballroom at 8 p.m.
Next week’s theme is songs from the movies.
“It’s a way of bringing the campus together with music,” MacArthur said.