Judges sought to determine the caliber of the 12 finalists from Pack Idol auditions as the finalists performed in front of a live audience at Stewart Theatre last night.
The Collaborative Greek Council hosted the competition, a replica of American Idol for N.C. State students, for the first time this year.
Ron Foreman, a Pack Idol judge, graphic designer and the New Horizons Choir director in the music department, said he now has a pool of talent to pull from when considering students on campus.
“We were looking for someone who could capture you when they sing … for someone to say ‘I’m here and what I have to say is important,'” he said. “You can see those qualities in somebody, even if they are not developed yet. There is great potential to use some of these people … in the music department.”
The performances, which began at 7:30 p.m., lasted until 9:30 p.m. when the audience and judges named Nicholas Klingler, a freshman in biological sciences, the winner of the contest.
Klingler said he was happy to have been able to compete in the first musical competition hosted at the University amongst the 12 finalists who showed great talent.
“I sang my heart out,” he said. “Everybody I was in there with sang their hearts out too. I was in there with a bunch of awesome people. It’s an inspirational thing.”
He said he loved the people he sang with.
As the winner of the Pack Idol competition, Klingler won a dozen roses, two tickets to a Gwen Stefani concert, free pizza from Domino’s once a month every month for a year, the opportunity to sing at shows on campus and title as the official NCSU Pack Idol.
Audience members won free pizza from Domino’s and some won free Pokey Stix once a month every month for a year as well. Other students performed in between contestant performances.
Christine McArthur, a junior in political science, president of the Collaborative Greek Council and director of Pack Idol, said she hopes Pack Idol grows on the student body.
“I am pleased [that] we actually had a good winner despite everything that went wrong … I was pleased at how well it all turned out,” she said. “We had a good turn out, but we did not have a great turn out, so hopefully next year, it’ll be a little bit bigger.”
According to McArthur, one of the downsides of the program was not being able to bring a guest radio host, but said she thought the overall program was successful.
