The Multicultural Affairs Department along with The Black Affairs Organization Department brought great talent and plenty of fun to The Culp Auditorium this weekend.
Hosted by Montez Burt, ETSU held the singing competition ‘The Voice’ on Saturday night in the Culp Auditorium.
ETSU students showcased some great talent, and kept the fun going. Much like NBC’s ‘The Voice’, the students went through an audition process.
The five contestants were Crea Babston, Kimbell Bray, Thomas Cook, Jerica Dyson and Jimmy Young.
The competitors were asked to sing two songs in two different rounds. For the first round of competition, the students sang a song of their choosing. Some of the songs included “Irreplaceable” by Beyonce, a unique acapella version of the script’s “Break Even”, and an excellent performance of “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”
In the second round of the competition the judges chose the genre of which each singer would choose a song from. While there was no Adam Levine or Christina, they did have a very fine panel of judges. The judges were familiar faces here on campus.
Stacey Deshkulkarne, a faculty member in the Radiography Department, Matthew Potterton, Director of Choral Activities at ETSU, and Christiana Romera, who won the very first ETSU Voice competition in 2013.
The second round showcased some great songs from all types of genres. Songs like “Killing me Softly”, a beautiful rendition performed by Crea Babston, and a unique spin on Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”
The judges delivered constructive feedback after the second round for each contestant. Kimbell Bray’s performance took everyone by surprise.
“I never thought I would see a Journey song performed sitting down,” said Stacey Deshkulkarne.
Also during this round was a beautiful performance of “At Last” by Jerica Dyson. The judges were speechless.
Judge Matthew Potterton said, “Please come visit me in the recruiting office, I have some scholarship money for you”.
The evening was fun for the whole audience with some music trivia while the judges deliberated.
The results were in, 3rd runner up was Jerica Dyson, and 2nd runner up went to Jimmy Young. The winner of ETSU Voice 2015 was Thomas Cook.
“It feels really great to win, but all of the performers tonight could have easily taken home the prize,” Thomas said.
The show was a great way to spend a Saturday night. Multicultural Affairs will be hosting an Open Mic Night on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in The Cave.
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