What do you get when you put 11 of Shippensburg University’s most talented singers on stage in a fierce competition to win $300?

Well it is not an experimental version of the “Hunger Games,” but Ship Idol.
Wednesday, Feb 26, the performers took to the Multi Purpose Room in the CUB to find out who was going to make it to Round 2 of the competition.

The night started off with a few announcements, which contained a brief explanation of the competition and how raffle tickets that were given out at the beginning would mean the winning of prizes such as BEATS ear buds, headphones and the BEATS Pill.

But after these announcements, the competition started up by introducing the judges, returning judge Emilee Danielson Burke, assistant dean of students and director of fraternity and sorority life; Jose Ricardo, interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Sarah Maize, an APB member and returning judge as well.

It was then explained that the night’s theme was love songs and jumped into singing soon after.
Kevin Palencar, one of the few contestants who stuck with a country song, expressed how nervous he was going on stage.

He explained that while he has performed at bars and cafes, he was still extremely nervous.
Although, when it came time for the judges to talk, they all agreed he did extremely well and did not look anywhere near nervous.

Virginia McLaughlin, another contestant, explained what the competition was like from the perspective of the contestant.

She explained that while they were doing sound check, everyone was friendly and it was an easygoing hour before the competition.

Even when the competition started, most were excited and nervous, waiting for their turn on stage.
“It was easier than speaking in front of a class,” she explained. “I’ve always wanted to perform on stage so I was content [on stage].”

And even in front of the judges she was not anxious, saying that the advice was helpful and she was going to use it for the next round of competition.

Then came the part of the night when the audience voted for who they wanted to move on in the competition.

Using a text messaging system, each member of the audience texted in their favorite contestant’s ID to a specific number and the votes were tallied.

Although, it was explained that the judge’s ultimately made the final decision, since 60 percent of the decision went to the judges and 40 percent went to the votes.
Once the first three were voted off, the judges picked a winner for the BEATS ear buds and the night ended.

The next round is Wednesday, March 5 at 9:30 p.m. in the Multi Purpose Room on the second floor of the CUB.

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