Bama Idol hosted its second annual competition Tuesday evening in the Ferguson Center Theater.
While people filed into the theater, a Whitney Houston Pandora station played in the background as a tribute to the recently passed singer. When it was time to begin, junior Cornelius Chacere and graduate assistant Jasmine Bush took the stage.
Chacere and Bush were the two hosts for the evening’s competition, and they started things off by showing a brief comedic video as an introduction, including clips from the original auditions and rehearsals.
Afterward, the audience was introduced to the panel of judges, which included UA student Kamie Crawford, William Martin of the Department of Theatre and Dance and Steven Hood, new executive director of Housing and Residential Communities. They sat behind an ornately decorated table, contributing to the distinct “American Idol” theme.
The contestants were introduced one at a time. There were twelve contestants in the finale, out of the 62 who auditioned this year. The top twelve included the following students: Amber James, Brea Basham, Randy Bowden, Micah Spires, Allie Niles, Amber Hersh, Aaron Finney, Candice Rosenkranz, Jonathan Bell, Ashton Perkins, Antenetta Clark and Anthony Ciulla. They performed in that order.
Amber James was the first performer of the evening and sung her rendition of “Waiting Here for You.” Judges gave commentary after she was done, giving feedback similar to how the judges of “American Idol” do.
“I think you have a very, very sweet voice,” Crawford told James after her performance.
The competition progressed in that pattern, with each competitor performing in turn and the judges giving them constructive feedback afterwards. The audience sang and clapped along with the tempo of each performance.
After Hood asked if performers could leave the stage and perform in the crowd, the sixth performer, Amber Hersh did just that. Hersh began her performance of Miranda Lambert’s “Kerosene” by getting the audience clapping with the beat, and shortly afterwards, she left the stage and entered the crowd. The crowd responded to this with cheers and encouragement.
“You decided you were going to have a good time, and you decided everyone was going to have a good time with you,” judge Martin said to Hersh.
Another first of the evening came after the tenth contestant Ashton Perkins performed. Perkins was the first performer to receive a standing ovation following her performance of Beyonce’s “Listen.” Audience members stood and sang along with her as she hit the high notes, and the judges recognized her for her powerhouse voice.
“I was struck by the natural sounds you make. That’s something you can’t learn,” Martin told Perkins. Crawford said simply of Perkins’ performance, “I have no words.”
The last contestant of the evening was Anthony Ciulla, who performed Josh Groban’s “Remember When It Rained.”
“It went from one extreme to another, and you really showed skill navigating those extremes,” Martin said of Ciulla’s performance.
Hood remarked on the various catcalls and shouts Ciulla received from the female audience members throughout his performance.
“If I was a college student of the female persuasion, I would be looking for you,” Hood said.
Ciulla informed the audience that he was, indeed, single.
Hosts Chacere and Bush retook the stage, giving a final salute to the judges for their constructive contributions. Audience members were instructed to vote by texting in their picks to the Bama Idol hotline.
While votes were tallied, the a capella group Subject To Change entertained the crowd with a performance. Subject To Change is the only a capella group at the university, and they received positive feedback from the crowd.
The hosts then had all the contestants line up on the stage, and the three winners for the evening were announced. James won third place and received a bag of merchandise from the SUPe Store. Micah Spires took second place, winning a new Kindle Fire for his performance of The Avett Brothers’ “Murder In The City.”
Spires was one of two of the contestants who played the guitar during their performance. Spires was able to persevere on the stage despite some challenges.
“I kind of had some technical difficulties so I was honestly shocked to see that I had got second place. I’m very excited. It was a really fun experience,” Spires said. “It really means a lot because to be honest I don’t really consider myself incredibly talented.”
Perkins was the first place winner, receiving an iPad 2. Perkins was encouraged by the hosts and by the audience to perform an encore of her winning performance. The crowd responded with as much enthusiasm as they did the first time, standing and clapping consistently.
“I felt like everybody was really into it, and I really appreciated the fact that it’s audience vote. For me to be voted on by my peers to win first place against all this incredible talent is really an honor,” said Perkins.
The organizers behind the Bama Idol event were pleased with the talent present in the competition this year. Bama Idol planner junior Symone Johnson said it will be a challenge to rival this year’s success next year.
“I was really nervous about everything going well. It feels amazing just to see that we had a great turn out and that everyone enjoyed themselves, ” Johnson said.
