With free concerts, movies and fun activities such as the annual Winter Wonderland, the Student Program Board aims to bring students something novel and exciting that showcases campus talent.
Similar to NBC’s show “The Voice,” SPB’s newest project, “UH Voice,” will include four judges with a diverse background in music, 16 contestants and one final winner.
The show takes a twist from the usual singing competitions by having the judges turn their backs from the contestants, so they can’t see the singers perform.
Student Video Network Vice President of Operations Isaiah Pena has seen a couple of “The Voice” episodes and likes the notion of having blind auditions.
“I love the concept of blind auditions, because it allows you to judge on talent alone rather than considering one’s appearance,” Pena said.
Pena hopes the show will provide judges with a fun personality.
“I think there needs to be some light-heartedness,” Pena said. “It helps the event move smoothly and keeps it fun.”
Media production senior Kevin Acquino thinks the project has the potential to become a UH tradition.
“This should be a crowd-pleasing experience and something that could go on for years, like Mr. UH,” Acquino said.
SPB President Anjuli Tuck thinks the project will get the student body involved.
“We think this is a great opportunity to showcase student talent and involve the student body at the same time,” Tuck said.
The auditions and final event will be held in conjuction with the SVN, which will record the auditions and post them to YouTube to see which contestants get the most “likes” and positive feedback.
The application deadline for open auditions was Nov. 15, and a total of 40 applicants will be narrowed down to 16 contestants on Dec. 3.
SPB Concert Chair Kevin Lacson came up with the idea of “UH Voice” with a specific intention.
“My motive behind organizing this competition was to give more exposure to UH students wishing to advance their music career but might not have had the time to dedicate their collegiate studies to music,” Lacson said.
Lacson asked applicants to send him a sample of their singing and will meet with a committee of six to vote on which contestants would move on.
“I’ve received samples ranging from pop to rock to country to R&B and more. I’m confident that I have an adequate amount of diversity genre-wise to make this competition more interesting than anything the University has ever experienced,” Lacson said.
The final auditions take place Dec. 3 in the University Center Bayou City Room and are open to the public.
Michael Nguyen, SVN’s director of public relations, said the project may inspire new ideas.
“Hopefully, many types of music are represented instead of just a small pool. We’ve covered auditions before, but not on this scale and in this format. It’s definitely a huge change-up from what we usually do.”
The live performance and airing of the show are planned to take place next semester in February in the new UC Theater. The winner will earn the opportunity to perform on campus at one of SPB’s major events.
