Kyle Keckler
News Editor
POCATELLO, Idaho — Recently, the Student Activity Board (SAB) sent out a casting call for members of our campus community with a talent they’d like to show off to come out and perform in front of an audience of their peers. The event, called “ISU’s Got Talent,” was hosted on February 27 in the Student Union Building. It was a talent show for ISU students to showcase their talents, of all sorts, for the chance to win a cash prize. The Bengal was in attendance, and below is our summary of the acts that graced the stage and gave their all in the name of art, glory, and economic incentive.
The first performance of the night was an unusual one; when people think of a talent show, they typically picture singing, dancing, or maybe a magic act. Instead, on a large projector screen connected to a laptop, Aiden Hashem played a modified version of Super Mario. The edited levels are made to include complex mechanics and are laden with hazards and enemies. To the uninitiated, they may seem totally impossible. Yet Hashem successfully completed three of these levels on stage, while the audience erupted into greater cheering and applause with each obstacle overcome.
The second performance was a drum solo done in accompaniment to a “mashup” of recordings of popular songs, including portions of “We Are Young” (Fun), “Empire State of Mind” (Jay-Z), “Mr. Brightside” (The Killers), and others. The individual at the drum set was Jared Peterson, who, throughout the performance, delivered a memorable and punchy percussive backing to the aforementioned music. Peterson’s work at the drums led the audience from song to song, to which those in attendance responded with enthusiastic shouts and applause. The audience made this enthusiasm known when voting as well, with Peterson winning the second-place prize of $300.
Next to take the stage were the Tempo Titans, a dance group made up of Barden Worley, Ceder Conley, Zach Wells, and James Squire. The four men appeared onstage dressed in matching black tank tops and orange pants. The songs to which they lip-synced and danced included “Not Like Us” (Kendrick Lamar), “Tricky” (Run-DMC), and “24 Karat Magic” (Bruno Mars), among others. The group, near the end of the performance, at once tore away their orange pants revealing American-Flag patterned underwear beneath, to the delight of the audience, some of whom held custom signs bearing the group’s name.
Fourth up was a large group, including both instrumentals and vocals, performing Chappell Roan’s 2020 hit “Pink Pony Club.” The instruments were performed by Quinton Smith, Alex Thomas, and Conner Warrell, with vocals provided by Sam Brown and Tatum Tripple. The audience was especially receptive to the energetic music, with frequent cheers and much applause during – and after – the performance. Members on vocals sang individually throughout the song’s verses and in harmony during the iconic chorus. In the end, it was this performance that took home First Place, winning the group a grand prize of $500.
The fifth entry to take the stage was James Cannon, who wowed the audience by whistling the entirety of Wicked’s “The Wizard And I.” The five-minute and thirty-second long song is characterized by its extensive high notes and complex melody, making Cannon’s pitch-perfect rendition, done solely through whistling, extremely impressive. The skill of the act certainly caught on with the audience, as Cannon would go on to win the third-place prize of $100.
Sixth up was a local band called Wrendon and the Roadies. The band included Wrendon Osbrone, Conner Warrell, and Alex Thomas, all three of whom were dressed in white sweaters and blue jeans. For their entry into the show, the group performed an original song called “The Mask,” which possessed a distinctive 80s-rock sound.
Last to take the stage was a string octet made up of students from the School of Performing Arts. The instruments and their players were Reecy Dayley and Joseph Baunmitay (Violin I), Lily Clements and Cameron Coleson (Violin II), Caesar Ruiz on viola, and Ian Woodruff, Keegan Barfus, and Joseph Loomis on cello. The group performed the song “Test Drive” from the How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack. With its soaring melody and uplifting sound, the piece was well-received by the audience.
After all the participants had given their performances, those in attendance were invited to cast their votes via the tickets provided on entry to the event. At the same time, the judges, made up of ISU students, faculty, and alumni, gathered to tally the votes and deliberate. In the meantime, audience members were invited to take the stage themselves and perform karaoke of any song of their choice. When all the votes were tallied, three acts were chosen to have in some way stood above the rest: those were James Cannon with third, Jared Peterson with second, and the performers of “Pink Pony Club” with first.
After those two hours of back-to-back displays of practice, persistence, and a genuine commitment – both to their craft and to the act of performing on stage – it is this reporter’s opinion that yes, ISU definitely “got talent.”
