The theme was Whitney Houston during the final round of Post Idol, which took place this past Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Hillwood Commons. The contestants were Amanda Kelly, a sophomore Adult Education major, Phillip Degaltini, a senior Theatre major, and Steven Makropoulos, a sophomore Theatre major. Senior Assistant Director of Student Life Eric Zirlinger was the host, who started off the evening with a few laughs.
Zirlinger first introduced DJ Mikey, then the judges: Director of Student Life Alerie Tirsch, Briana Turner, and Donte Hardy. Anny Jules, who was last year’s winner, kicked off the show singing, “I Will Always Love You.” After that, Amanda Kelly was up first. Her first song was, “Where Do Broken Hearts Go?” The judges thought she did a pretty good job overall, but one expressed that she wished Amanda would have made it her own.
Next up was Phillip Degaltini who sang, “I Have Nothing.” The judges agreed that he had a lot of energy but said he was off key at times. Last to hit the stage was Steven Makropoulos who sang, “Shoop….Shoop.” Steven made a bold choice and decided to play the piano while he sang. The judges thought he would have been better off without it, as he messed up the lyrics in the middle of the song; however, he kept on going and made it up as he went.
Then, a curveball was thrown into the mix – a wildcard. Tissan Riely, a junior Criminal Justice major, was brought back from the pervious round. She sang, “Heartbreak Hotel.” One judge said her stage presence was “through the roof.” Nonetheless, her pitch was off at a few points during her performance.
Then the judges deliberated. The contestants were judged on vocals, originality, stage presence, and audience response. Phillip Degaltini and Steven Makropoulos were the first two to be eliminated.
Tissan was up again to sing her final song, “I Look to You.” The judges thought it was a good song choice for her, but she lost the energy she had from her first performance. Then, it was back to Amanda, who sang, “I’m Every Woman.” The judges agreed it wasn’t the best song for her but loved her use of the stage and how she engaged the audience.
The audience voted on whom the last woman standing would be. Amanda Kelly took the competition. As the auditorium cleared out, she sang, “Moves Like Jagger.” Amanda’s prize is to open up at the Spring Fling concert for Ludacris on April 19th.
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