Bloom Idol is Back!
Bloom Idol is making its illustrious return to the university after a year-long hiatus. The singing competition, open to all Bloomsburg University students, will once again declare one winner out of the sea of talented entertainers the campus has to offer.
Bloom Idol is making its illustrious return to the university after a year-long hiatus. The singing competition, open to all Bloomsburg University students, will once again declare one winner out of the sea of talented entertainers the campus has to offer.
Bloom Idol, which is now in its fourth season, is a program jointly administered by both Residence Life and Program Board. The Bloom Idol program manager, Ms. Marcei Woods explained that the competition, which runs every Thursday starting October 16, was set up as an alternative for students on Thursday nights.
“Rather than going out drinking and getting into trouble, students will have something fun and different to do on Thursday nights.”
Through the end of September each residence hall, as well as on-campus apartments, host their own auditions to decide which contestants have what it takes to represent his or her living quarters on the main stage. Ms. Woods stated that each dorm (with the exception of Elwell and Columbia) are allowed to send five contestants to the main event. (Bloomsburg’s two largest dorms are allowed to send ten each.) The Mount Olympus and Montgomery Place Apartments combined will select ten entertainers, while off campus and commuter students may elect ten combined contestants as well.
Each episode of Bloom Idol will be judged by a panel of staff judges, along with a revolving “guest judge” who will change each week. The first guest judge will be Debbie Capo, a Bloomsburg alumni who participated on the American Idol television show. The second week will see the president of CGA Gia Adornetto sitting in the judges seat, while week three brings a representative from Program Board. Wrapping things up in week four will be an elected CA, while the fifth and final show on November 13 will showcase Bloomsburg’s Homecoming king and queen in the hot seat.
Competitors will be judged on five categories, with scores ranging from a one (highest) to a five (lowest). Attributes such as stage appearance, musical selection, words (vocals), pitch, and overall sound will all be taken into consideration.
The judges seats will not be the only star-studded aspect of the competition, however, as Bloom Idol has a few more fantastic features in store for the audience. During intermissions at every event, BU student performance groups such as the Dance Ensemble will be showcasing their talents, so make sure to pay a visit to the restrooms before the show, because you will not want to miss them.
Another entertaining element of the series will be its revolving panel of hosts. Each week, beginning with musician and BU alumnus Garrett Lowe, a different MC will wow the crowd and run the show, but unlike the pre-determined guest judges, there is actually an open casting call out right now for MCs. Bloom Idol is hoping to appeal to the mass comm majors, as well as members of WBUQ and BUTV here on campus to take the reigns for the remaining four shows.
“Hosting this competition would make a great addition to your portfolio when applying for a job,” Ms. Woods states. All interested parties should email her for additional information at mwoods@bloomu.edu.
Like American Idol, Bloom Idol will highlight group as well as solo songs each episode, with each week having a unique theme. With song sets ranging from Motown to the Beatles to love ballads, the contestants will certainly need to do their music homework to prepare for each theme. Also like its predecessor, the audience’s votes will determine who moves on each week. Online voting will open at the conclusion of each show for Bloomsburg students to show their support for their favorite performers, while onsite voting will be available for the season finale on November 13.
The season premiere of Bloom Idol begins October 16 at 9:00 p.m. in the Kehr Union ballroom with the theme of Motown. Admission is free.
