USU’s Idols sing their way to stardom
They may not be household names like Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard or Kelly Clarkson.
But soon you may recognize names like Candace Laib, Toshi Kamatsu or Christina Zaccheus.
They are all going to USU Idol – Utah State University’s version of American Idol.
Tuesday was the final audition to advance in USU’s Idol.
The competitions have been held at The Junction for the past three Tuesday nights at 9 p.m.
Just like American Idol, it had its own share of music, good and bad; fans; and emcee Ryan Seacrest, er, Christian Heidicker.
The managers of The Junction thought this contest would be a good way to draw people in and for people to have fun.
But people took it seriously.
“It’s so much fun,” Heidicker said. “When someone gets up there and you’re expecting them to screw up, [instead, their talent] shocks you.”
Heidicker said most people watch American Idol to see people perform badly.
“It’s interesting to watch people screw up and make fools of themselves,” Heidicker said.
But a bad audition may guarantee a spot on USU Idol.
Kamatsu performed “Twist and Shout” to cheers and applause from the audience.
One of the judges said, “You can’t sing, but that’s OK.”
Heidicker kept the momentum of the crowd laughing with his ad lib between songs.
He said, “I’m going to pretend this is like a ’50s game show with one sign [blinking] hysterical laughter, one sign for ‘awww,’ and one sign for applause.”
The audience reacted accordingly.
After Summer Reinhart sang “Unchained Melody,” Heidicker said, “How many imagined Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze doing it the whole time?”
Later, he said it again after an unrelated song, “Just One Night” sang by Lance Walker. Blink: Hysterical laughter.
The audience did.
After Zaccheus sang “All That She Wants,” a judge said, “Finally, someone who can sing.”
The judges tallied their votes and the audience got to pick one to move on to the finals. The judges and audience had five factors to consider: audience involvement, stage presence, voice, outfit/style and choice of song.
While votes were tallied, winners from the previous week’s competition sang. They included Laib and Calvin “Smooth” Kensley and Jared “Ja-Rod” Larsen. Kensley and Larsen performed a rap song they had only written an hour before they performed.
They talked about performing for the finals.
“It’s going to be exciting,” Kensley said.
There will be 14 contestants performing in USU Idol. Each contestant has to sing a different song than one performed in tryouts.
The finals will be Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. in The Hub.
-acbailey@cc.usu.edu