A group of about 50 students auditioned for the competition, according to Gospel Choir director Walt Cunningham. Prospective contestants sang in front of a panel of three judges: Cunningham, director of Hopkins Center Ensembles Joshua Price Kol '93 and Kaitlyn Sheehan '09, a finalist in the 2009 competition. Cunningham and Kol are the co-producers of this year's "Idol."
Students who auditioned sang a song of their choice, according to Cunningham. They performed a cappella, and after finishing, some were asked to sing the song in a different key, or even to sing a different selection, Cunningham said. The entire process only lasts about five minutes for each person.
"Joshua, Kaitlyn and I are basically the Paula, Simon and Randy' of the competition," Cunningham said. "We narrow down the initial group of performers which was very talented this year, as always to a pool of semifinalists. We don't have a predetermined number of people we want to have in the semifinals. We feel it out based on who we think would have a good chance. Making first round cuts is probably the most difficult part of the competition, as it would be great to be able to take everyone who has the courage to come audition."
This year, 23 students will compete in the semifinal round, which will take place in Spaulding Auditorium on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. Each singer will perform 90 seconds of a song with karaoke accompaniment from a selection of about 6,000 tracks. Each performer sends in their three top choices, and then Cunningham and Price select which song they will perform. As music director of "Idol," Cunningham arranges all of the tracks to which contestants have access.
"At first, I was pretty nervous to sing in front of such talented people, but auditions were really low-key and fun," Phoebe Bodurtha '15, who auditioned for "Idol" for the first time this year and advanced to the semifinal round, said. "I'm definitely glad I tried out."
Bodurtha emphasized how excited she is to be a part of the competition, no matter what the outcome is.
"It's a really great opportunity, and I can't wait to be able to sing with everyone," she said.
Cunningham tries to ensure the songs performed at the semifinals are diverse and varied, as people of all ages attend the show. He also aims to push contestants out of their comfort zones, he said.
Six finalists will be selected based on a combination of judge and audience votes. At the end of the show, audience members will be asked to submit ballots on which they indicate their favorite performers.
Judges evaluate contestants based on their vocal ability, such as their rhythm, pitch, musicality and overall performance, in addition to other factors, according to Cunningham.
The show will be hosted and judged by current students, but Cunningham declined to share who they would be.
"I can't give everything away before the show," he joked. "We want to keep an element of mystery."
Many students will also return to the stage this year after competing in previous years' competitions for another chance to win.
"I made it to the semifinals last year and had a ton of fun, so I decided to give the competition one last shot before graduating," Austin Greenfield '12, one of this year's semifinalists and music director of the co-ed a cappella group the Dodecaphonics, said. "I auditioned this year with Justin Nozuka's Be Back Soon,' but I haven't decided what I want to sing for the semifinals yet. I always get a little bit nervous before a performance, but Idol' is such a welcoming atmosphere that there is no point in psyching myself out."
"Dartmouth Idol" was Cunningham's brainchild in 2008.
"The whole purpose of Dartmouth Idol' was to try and give the community a reason to interact," Cunningham said. "We always have a really diverse audition pool different styles of singers, people from all class years, from different sports teams, from different fraternities and sororities and so on. We encourage people of all abilities to audition, so that everyone can come together under the umbrella of a singing competition."
