Aggie Voice winner announced
It’s not out of the ordinary to dream of becoming a rock star, but few rarely get to say they made that dream into a reality like the top 10 finalists of the Aggie Voice singing competition.
On the night of Feb. 4, 2016, Utah State University friends, family and fans piled in to watch the competition and vote for their favorite performer.
Open auditions for the competition were held about three weeks prior to the showcase and out of about 50 singing hopefuls, the top 10 were hand-picked by the three judges.
For the next three weeks, the finalists met and practiced for hours at a time in order to properly prepare for the steep, yet exciting, competition that lay ahead. In the midst of preparation, the Aggie idols managed to give their fans a taste of what to expect with their first debut performance of the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” at USU’s Traditions Week’s “The Filharmonic” show. This only fueled the applause and the passionate fan base for each performer that ended up filling the ballroom at Aggie Voice.
As the lights dimmed and the night began, the first round consisted of the finalists taking on the audience and the judges with their own musical style. Performers Gavin Salisbury, Kenzie Davis and Christian Hobbs wound fans up with their energetic stage presence while performers Nicole Vander Does, Hillary Simmons, and Anapesi Ka’ili swept them away with a powerful ballad. Other performers, such as Josh Claflin and Sarah Hart, intrigued fans with their original song-writing skills while performers Reggie Johnson and Garrett Steed tuned well-known classics to fit their personal groove and range.
But the performers couldn’t pull off the entire showcase by themselves. Thanks to the sponsorship for the event from Arvo and support from Roolee Boutique, the finalists were able to look their best and compete for a prize reward of $500, two tickets to “The Voice” television show in Los Angeles, California and a customized Arvo watch. Not to mention the free giveaways and discounted coupons that kept the audience of college students engaged.
With the first round of voting in and counted for, the judges and fans simmered down the competition to the final three: (in no particular order) Sarah Hart, Anapesi Ka’ili and Christian Hobbs. Each performer was given one more chance to wow the judges and steal the crowd’s votes for the chance to be known as the voice of Utah State.
Once it came down to the final vote, Hobbs’ medley twist on Adele’s “Hello” and Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and Hart’s acoustic rendition of The Lumineers’ “Ho Hey” could not compete with Ka’ili’s powerful performance of Jennifer Hudson’s own “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” Students and family exploded into a rousing applause as Anapesi Ka’ili was announced the winner of Utah State University’s Aggie Voice singing competition.
But the show was not over and could not be complete without one last group performance by all 10 finalists of the soul-filled “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” The performers ran through the crowd as fans got on their feet, clapped their hands and raised their voices together in song to conclude the evening.
Amidst hugs, tears and congratulations, Ka’ili, said, “It was scary. I was shocked. But it was so fun.”
She said that had it not been for her friends forcing her to audition last minute at the Aggie Voice Open Auditions, she would still be singing in the comfort of her own shower.
Other contestants were happy for Kai’li as well, and many were grateful for the experience.
“I loved it. I had such a blast. I think anyone could’ve seen that we were having fun on stage,” Salisbury said.
Many contestants were grateful for the musical experience and the friendships that were formed among the Aggie Voice contestants.