‘Idol’ auditions impress judges
First-year Trevor Weichmann sat nervously awaiting his “Mustang Idol” audition in the Student Activities Center Wednesday night.
“I get really shaky,” Weichmann, an electrical engineering major, said. “I’m still shaking.”
Growing up in a musically talented family, Weichmann has plenty of experience in front of an audience. He began singing in the fourth grade in his church choir. He was also a member of his high school’s male a capella choir, which was nationally recognized.
Weichmann was one of over 75 students who auditioned for “Mustang Idol” Wednesday and Thursday night. He auditioned because he loves to sing and dance and his friends encouraged him to give it a shot.
Audition slots were triple-booked, and some students had to be turned away because they couldn’t make the audition times. Singers performed a song of their choice without musical accompaniment.
Emotions ranged from extremely nervous to acting nonchalant about the auditions.
Three judges from various talent backgrounds will pick the 10 finalists. The finalists will be announced at 10 a.m. Friday in front of the Students Activities Center.
“We’re looking for the total package in a Mustang Idol,” judge Quinton A. F. Crenshaw, SMU alumnus and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. Public Relations Coordinator, said. “We want voice, personality, charisma and style.”
Crenshaw also has an extensive background in music. Pair him with Doris Edwards from BMG Entertainment and Somer White from Kim Dawson Talent Agency, and Mustang Idol had its own Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
The judges were impressed by the diversity of talent shown by the students. The few surprises the judges did experience seemed to make the night actually more enjoyable for them. One contestant even demanded that they sing along, White said.
Although all of the students hope to be the next Mustang Idol, they all had different reasons for entering the contest
“I’m just here for fun,” said Stephanie Blackburn, a sophomore psychology major. “I just want to get out there and sing.”
Blackburn did mention her interest in the $1,000 prize that she felt would be well spent in a shopping spree.
First-year Pat Rieger, theater studies major, entered to prove men vocalists with deeper voices deserve attention, too.
“I’m here as a political statement that the basses can bust it out,” Rieger said.
Once the 10 finalists are chosen, they will be performing in a variety of school events up until the final on Nov. 6, 2002. The Student Film Association is producing a video with footage of the auditions to be shown in Hughes-Trigg.
The 10 finalists are scheduled to make their first major appearance in the Homecoming Parade Oct. 19, said Elissa Berchelmann, Program Council Hilltop Chair.
