The University of Wyoming hosted its annual UW Idol competition last Friday in the Arts and Sciences auditorium. Fifteen contestants made it to the semifinal round competing for a $1,000 grand prize.
The semifinal and final rounds were held together in one four-hour event, culminating in three cash prizes for the top three spots and the “fan-favorite,” chosen by an audience vote. Alexandra Garcia, a freshman Biology major, went home with both the top spot and the fan-favorite vote.
Q: So, when did you get into music and singing?
AG: Well, I grew up without T.V., so I would just go outside and sing to my animals, and that’s honestly how singing started for me. Other than that, I took like, maybe two years of choir. So, I haven’t had much, but I’m a singer in the shower and outside and stuff.
Q: Who are some of your influences musically?
AG: Musically? I love Celine Dion. She’s got to be my favorite, just because of the way she got started and she hasn’t, you know, failed herself and her morals and stuff like that. I don’t know, I just find her a really beautiful person.
Q: What was the process like, getting into UW Idol?
AG: Basically, auditions were really low-key. We just got up – I don’t remember how many contestants there were – but we got up and sung a 30-second acapella part of any song, and I sang ‘Hallelujah.’ From there, while the judges were voting, there was this other award [the ‘William Hung’ award] where if you did a funny song you’d get an extra award. It was fun, there were a lot of funny guys that went up there.
Q: What was the big night like, with Semifinals and Finals? Stressful?
AG: Yeah, it was like the first time ever I’d sung on a stage. I’ve never dealt with microphones that much, so I didn’t know how to deal with that. But yeah, it was super stressful. Well, it wasn’t really stressful, it was just really scary. I brought my homework with me, because I didn’t think I’d make it to the second round. I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got homework due before midnight, so I’ll just do it here!’ Wasn’t a good idea. I still got it turned in though! The people there were awesome. The other contestants – we all just formed a straight-up bond. Like, whenever we got done, we’d go backstage and do a big group hug. It was awesome, really fun.
Q: How did you choose your songs for the performances?
AG: My first song, for semifinals, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Leona Lewis, was basically an internal dedication to my dad as it is his favorite song and I wanted to dedicate something to the biggest role model in my life. My final songs were not as special, but I tried to choose songs that I remotely knew the lyrics and those two songs qualified. Plus, they were just overall nice songs to listen to.
Q: So how does it feel to be the UW Idol and the fan-favorite choice?
AG: It was pretty awesome! Honestly, the first thing that went through my head was I was really honored that people chose me and thought I was pretty good. I was like, “Yeah! I’m not singing to animals anymore, I’m singing to humans!”
Q: What are you going to do with all that prize money?
AG: Well, I’m a college kid, so I’m going to pay for college, and that’s about it. I mean, I wish I could buy a plane or something like that. I could buy one off of eBay probably, right? A thousand dollar plane? Probably not the most reliable thing.
