USU hosts 2nd Annual Karaoke Raffle Night
Echoes of singing Aggies could be heard throughout the Taggart Student Center Thursday night. The infectious performances caused many to sing and dance along as they cheered on those brave enough to raise their voices in song at the second annual Karaoke Raffle Night.
Students filled the International and Sunburst Lounges of the TSC for the event. Some came out of curiosity to see what the hype was all about, and others signed up to share their talents with the student body.
The first hundred people were given a free ticket entry into the raffle. Additional tickets were earned by signing up to sing.
Several prize baskets were raffled off, as well as a Nintendo Switch.
Songs ranged from Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats” to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and a little bit of everything in between.
Nichole Chiaramonte, USUSA series director, was impressed with the overall outcome of the night, considering the amount of other things students could have spent their time doing.
Chiaramonte said that, with competing activities like Netflix taking over much of students’ free time, planning events like Karaoke Night and PoBev can be a struggle, since most people would rather be at home.
“Being karaoke, I suspected that maybe 100 people would show up,” Chiaramonte said. “The actual event exceeded my expectations, with about 400 people in the audience.”
Chiaramonte enjoys the events she plans because of the energy from the crowd.
“I love the spontaneity that events like karaoke night and PoBev provide to the student body,” Chiaramonte said.
Ryan Aust, the first singer of the night, sang “Gimme, Gimme” from “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and was worried the DJ might not have her song. Luckily, she ended up being able to find a karaoke version on YouTube.
“I hadn’t had any plans to get up and sing tonight,” Aust said. “But once I was here I just had the feeling that I should do it.”
Brothers Max and David Heine are just two of the many people who signed up to sing to the energetic crowd.
David Heine, a member of the Series Committee, had a feeling he should ask his brother to sing with him.
“We chose to sing ‘Wagon Wheel’ because it’s one of our favorite songs. It’s also a great road trip song that most people would know and sing along to,” David Heine said.
Brenden and Baylee Dusenberry, along with Brandee Brian, originally attended with the intention of singing but like many others, were surprised with the number of people who showed up.
They happily shared their enthusiasm from the audience.
“We loved just how everyone was getting into the singing,” Baylee Dusenberry said. “We came just because it was something fun to do.”
Brenden Dusenberry agreed.
“We just wanted to try something new,” Brenden Dusenberry said.
Jacque Carter originally came with one friend but eventually called more, inviting them to meet them there.
“I wanted to do something fun with friends and sing about a bad break-up I just had, but I ended up on the waitlist,” Carter said.
Whether Aggies were cheerleaders in the audience or belted out their best “Pitch Perfect” voices on stage, Karaoke Raffle Night was the perfect way to send students into their weekend homecoming celebration.
—kortni.marie.wells@aggiemail.usu.edu
@kortniwells
@dmacolsen