No. 1 pick
All that was missing was the body paint.
Although Goldstein Auditorium worked, the Carrier Dome would have been a more suitable location for this year’s SU Idol competition. The crowd certainly wouldn’t have filled the Dome’s 50,000 seats, but the spirit of the fans in attendance rivaled that of the most exciting Syracuse University sporting events.
‘I think the key for SU Idol is the friends and the audience, who can connect to students who are competing,’ said Kal Alston, Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and professor of cultural foundations of education, as well as a judge for the competition.
Last night marked the 2009 SU Idol competition, a contest that mocks the popular reality television show ‘American Idol.’ After listening to 10 different contestants over the course of two rounds a sophomore from the SU School of Education, Davis Haines, was selected by the student body as this year’s winner.
Ten contestants individually appeared on stage to sing a song of their choice, and were greeted like star quarterbacks by their own sects of fans within the larger audience. In fact, many of the contestants often took advantage of this situation, catering to their friends in the crowd by throwing inside jokes and references within their performances that garnered riotous responses and laughs.
‘Davis Haines is my roommate…so I came here to support the gang,’ said Ryan Whitman, a sophomore music industry major.
‘I think it’s mainly divided into groups. You have a bunch of musical theater people over there, and then you have a Davis crowd.’
Of course, another one of the biggest draws to any large sporting event is the chance to see celebrities up close and personal. SU Idol got the equation right, as Chancellor Nancy Cantor stepped in as a celebrity judge to select the best of the competing singers. While she is certainly not an authority of musical performances, Cantor was indeed a crowd pleaser.
Cantor said that University Union, the student group who organized the Idol event, contacted her for a chance to step outside her normal duties, connect to students and take her ‘position to a more visible level.’
‘I’m not an expert, but I’m delighted to weigh in,’ Cantor said. ‘I’m expecting a lot of talent, a lot of character, soul and artistic sensibility that plays to the audience.’
In fact, the crowd was almost as eager to see their chancellor, as they were to hear their peers. Staying in true fan-fashion, the crowd belted ‘Chancy Nancy’ while clapping they’re hands as Cantor joined her fellow judges.
After each contestant gave their performances, they received a critique from three of the judges, while Cantor suspiciously remained benched during the judge’s reviews. Here the crowd couldn’t help but contribute to the SU Idol experience yet again, treating the judges like referees when a unfavorable comment was made towards their favorite competitors.
After every participant sang their pieces, the judges left to determine who would be in the ‘final four’, where the winner of the competition would be determined.
The contestants sang once again, this time working extra hard to be crowd pleasers, as they were no longer in the Carrier Dome, but a battle coliseum. Like the gladiator battles from ancient Greece, the winner was determined by a democratic vote from the audience.
‘It’s the people’s choice, the judges can only take it so far,’ said Drew Sullivan, the UU director of performing arts and a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. As students sat on the edge of their seats cheering on their favorite singers, the winner was revealed to be Haines.
‘I didn’t know that people would come out and actually support me,’ Haines said. ‘I just love to sing, and I’m glad that they saw that in me.’
Haines knew how to play to the strengths of his home field advantage. During his first song, ”For once in my life” by Stevie Wonder, Haines changed the song’s lyrics in an attempt to serenade Cantor, grabbing instant approval from the judges and crowd. One of the other judges even asked if Haines was single.
For his second song, Haines strategized off the relevancy of John Legend’s recent musical performance at SU.
‘The reason I chose the last song I sang, was because that’s the song that less than a week ago John Legend dedicated to me at his concert, so that was a really special song to me,’ Haines said.
As part of the victory celebration, Haines led the original 10 contestants in singing the Syracuse alma mater. While it wasn’t a trip to Disney World, it was enough for the SU Idol winner.
‘I had done what I wanted to do, and I was surprised by the win’, Haines said. ‘It feels amazing.’
Published on September 29, 2009 at 12:00 pm
