The sound of harmonic choir music filled the air as the doors opened to Kehr 230. Upon entering, you would find a group of three people huddled by one of the windows. They were members of the gospel choir, and they were also three of the night’s judges.
This was the scene Tuesday night as the Impact Movement hosted its auditions for their upcoming Sunday’s Best Talent show. A show where contestants would be performing Christ and Goespel-themed songs. This marks the first iteration of Sunday’s Best but Scripture House, the president of the Impact Movement, hopes to make it a recurring event on campus.
House, spoke about the inspiration behind the event, saying, “We wanted to find a different way to be able to showcase our talents and gifts that God has given us.”
Going further she stated, “So many people on campus have so many different gifts that we wanted to give everyone on campus the opportunity to showcase it and just give glory to God.”
The Auditions
Upon entering, all contestants were ushered into a waiting room down the hall from Kehr 230. There, they were given a popsicle stick that determined their order.
They would then be called in by one of the seven judges, who each took turns going to fetch the next contestant. From there, their performance would be judged on a scale from one to ten, with a maximum score of 70.
House described the process following the auditions, stating that the judges, after considering each performance, would “pick our final eight contestants for the big show.” They would also be judging from a selection of in-person and video auditions.
And although scores may have varied between each performance, what was in abundance was praise from the seven judges. All of whom complimented each contestant’s performance and their connection to God that was felt through their performance.
The Contestants
Ten contestants participated in the auditions, whether that be in-person, like Aidan Mateos, who performed the hymn Christ be Our Light, or sending in a video submission, such as high school junior Niaheem, who danced for his audition. A common theme through all performances was the connection many felt to what they were performing.
Jadyn Culp was one such contestant who sang Never Alone by Tori Kelly. She chose the song for the beauty she found in it, along with the message of “who we love most,” prevalent throughout it. Culp, along with another contestant, Sabrina White had their performances so well received that they were offered the chance to join the gospel choir following the show.
Another Isaac Owens sang the song Sanctuary. “It has been one of my strength songs,” Owens said, after stating the tough tie they had during freshman year.
The Finalists
Of the ten contestants who auditioned, only eight were chosen to move on and participate in the big show. The chosen eight were:
- Kayla Imani (Non-BU Student)
- Jadyn Culp
- Huilin Kang, Changli Chen, Wenlei Zhang, Queeni Chen, and Hauixin Xue (Group)
- Nelson-Mandela Mensah
- Naiheem Smith (Non-BU Student)
- Amoy Edwards (Non-BU Student)
- Aidan Mateos
- Sabrina White
Now these final eight contestants get to move on to the main talent show occurring on May 5th, where the top three contestants can win from a prize pool of $1,500, and those top three contestants will be chosen by fan choice.
