Brian Degenfelder auditions Friday night for Friday Night Fever’s UW Idol.
University of Wyoming students competed Friday night for a chance to win $1000 in the UW Idol Open Call competition.
The competition, hosted by Friday Night Fever, was open to all students. Lead Student Programmer Boyd Deuel, a senior in communications, estimated that 45 students competed for the 15 semi-final spots and the five alternate spots.
“How many of you have heard of American Idol?” Deuel asked the audience in the packed Union Ballroom.
On the popular television show, judges were allowed to openly voice their opinion about a contestant’s performance immediately afterward. One judge on the show, Simon Cowell, was known for his biting and hurtful remarks.
“Well, this is nothing like that,” Deuel said.
Competitors were given 30 seconds to sing a song of their choice a cappella style. The musical styles and choices were as varied as the contestants. Some contestants sang popular Top 40 hits. Others belted out songs in their best country twang. Najim Adewuyi, a junior chemical engineering student from Nigeria who said he taught himself Hindi, went off the beaten path and sang a classical Hindi song.
Competitors were not only battling each other, they also were battling nerves. Jeremy Gross, a senior in musical theater, said he was more nervous during his 30 seconds because “under the lights, you can’t see their faces.”
Dyann Diercks (below) sings her thirty second rendition of the song ‘Shout’ by the Isley Brothers.
The judges had the tough job of choosing the 15 semi-finalists and five alternates. Deuel circulated through the crowd while the judges deliberated, getting audience feedback about who their favorite competitors were, but in the end it was the judges who decided the fates of the 45 performers.
Jaymie Syracuse, a forensics and criminal justice freshman, said she wanted to be a judge because it would have given her “a chance to voice my opinion about something.”
Other students, like freshman Cole Janzen and Bryce Snow said being a judge would have been out of the question for them. With the different musical styles, it would have been too hard to choose, they said.
He said that crowd size varies at FNF events, but “when it’s a competition event with a huge prize we usually expect a few hundred people.”
The UW Idol semi-finals will be held at 9 p.m. Friday in the Arts and Sciences Auditorium, with the finals in two weeks.
Semi-Finalists
• Christine Tezak—history, junior
• Jami Jorginsen—anthropology with minor in
women’s studies, second year graduate student
• Jeremy Gross—musical theater, senior
• Megan Shively—elementary education, junior
• Tanya Salih—business administration, senior
• Tyler Bloom—criminal justice major with minor in music, freshman
• James Chestnut—musical theater, senior
• Erik Mitchell—chemical engineering, senior
• Levi Caleb Robinson—computer science, senior
• Michael Harnish—music education, sophomore
• Alison Rickard—vocal performance, senior
• Victor Pokorny—music education, sophomore
• Kale Donnelly—finance, sophomore
• Brian Degenfelder—marketing, senior
• Claire Korpela—chemistry, sophomore
Alternates
1. Dyann Diercks—journalism, senior
2. Bethany Jones—speech, language and hearing
sciences, sophomore
3. Bri Cordova—musical theater, senior
4. Najim Adewuyi—chemical engineering, junior
5. Cass Igo—elementary education, junior
For more photos visit UW Idol Contestants.
