Saluki idol SIU style
Laura TeegardenDaily Egyptian
The auditorium fell silent as the sultry tones of Sabrina Smith's rendition of Pink's "Misery" spread throughout the Student Center Auditorium. Smith, a junior from Bloomington studying history and music, was the first-place winner of five participants in the Saluki Idol competition Tuesday night. She said the hardest part for her was not getting nervous but the particular competition she was up against.
"It was kind of awkward doing it because my boyfriend competed in it and so did my roommate," Smith said. Voices of Inspiration, a gospel choir and Registered Student Organization, originally came up with the concept to play host to a talent show. However, because of the hype over the hit show on FOX, American Idol, they decided to go with the theme of Saluki Idol, said Victoria Duckett, a senior from Chicago studying marketing and president of Voices of Inspiration.
Similar to the television show, Saluki Idol included a witty emcee, Candice Ball, a senior from Memphis studying education, and criticism from three judges who spoke to the singers after their performance. Contestant Willie Walker, a junior from Chicago studying industrial technology, said he felt like his performance could have been better but that he had gotten busy studying for midterms. Though critical of himself, he said he did not get nervous. "You just do it," Walker said. Nikeisha McDonald, a senior in music business, was talked into participating by her roommate, Smith. Though normally a shy person, she managed to snag a third-place win.
"I did it to get over stage fright," McDonald said. Though she didn't place, Jana Hughes, a freshman from Chicago studying journalism, said she was glad she participated. Hughes summoned up the courage to enter into the competition after seeing the fliers advertising the event around campus. Melissa Cory, a junior from Windsor studying administration of justice, received second place while still recovering from losing her voice. "I have been so excited about singing," Cory said.
She said the excitement about performing in the upcoming Saluki Idol competition got her carried away singing karaoke over the weekend, and she lost her voice. During the intermission, members of the audience were called up to perform in the open mic portion of the evening. Though a sparse audience, the attendees managed to make quite a commotion while cheering on one another. One performance in particular, an impromptu group calling themselves Stan and the Three Blind Mice, really got the audience cheering. The audience rolled in their seats as one of the men on stage, Otis Powell, a freshman from Chicago studying aviation maintenance, pretended to collapse from the shock of hearing the high pitches of the song.
Though the competition had a light side during the intermission, the contestants and judges took it seriously. After all, a $200 prize for first place was at stake. To practice for the competition, the five contestants were critiqued by executive board members of Voices of Inspiration during rehearsals before the final competition. This was the second year the Saluki Idol competition took place, and organizers are hoping to improve upon the contest and make it a tradition. "We're hoping to get bigger and better and maybe co-sponsor with another RSO," Duckett said.
Last update: Thursday, March 10, 2005 at 2:32:25 PM
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