Last evening, the Dartmouth Idol Semifinals showcased Dartmouth's finest singers in a variety of styles and genres. Out of the 23 semifinalists, six contestants will move on to the Dartmouth Idol Finals on March 4: Perry Bradford '12, Xavier Curry '14, Kevin Oh '12, Sarah Peck '14, Michelle Shankar '12 and Ethan Weinberg '12.
The Semifinals, which took place in Spaulding Auditorium, were produced by Walter Cunningham, music director of the Dartmouth College Gospel Choir, and Joshua Kohl, director of the Hopkin Center's student performance program. Four students Shayla Mars '11, Peyton Tata '11, Jonathan Katz '12 and Ben Ludlow '12 served as hosts.
The judges included Dan Van Deusen '11,the winner of Dartmouth Idol 2010, Kaitlyn Sheehan '09, a former Dartmouth Idol place winner, and Peter Frank, a contestant on American Idol's 2011 season.
College President Jim Yong Kim also made an appearance midway through the show. In his speech, Kim commended the "shower singers" among the semifinalists talented performers with no formal training or professional experience.
Audience members including Dartmouth students, faculty and community members exhibited enthusiasm throughout the show, particularly during performances of upbeat songs such as "When Love Takes Over," "Teenage Dream" and "Think."
The semifinalists were chosen from the over 90 students who auditioned last Saturday.
At the end of the show, audience members submitted ballots on which they indicated their five favorite performers.
