'Campus Super Star' contestants prepare for semi-finals

“American Idol” has met its match.

Campus Super Star, a talent competition for solo singers, is well underway. Semi-finalists in the three-round competition will be fighting for a top-10 spot at 7 p.m. today in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Leah Aft, assistant director of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center, which produces the show, said the semi-finalists must perform in an elimination showdown similar to “American Idol.”

The competition will feature a wide variety of music, including pop, oldies, musical theater and opera, Aft said.

After the first rounds of competition in Bloomington and Indianapolis, 30 semi-finalists will be left. Each will be judged on various factors, including song choice, stage presence, attitude and vocal talent.

In the final round on April 18 at the Madame Walker Theatre in Indianapolis, judges will choose the top five performers, and a winner will be selected based on an audience vote.

All top-10 finalists will receive cash prizes and one hour of recording time with the Bloomington Recording Company. The winner will receive a grand prize of $5,000.
Senior and semi-finalist Carolyn Mehta said her incentives to compete this year include meeting new people, having fun and winning some money for school.

“I’m looking forward to meeting and interacting with people and performing for my good friends and family,” she said. “It also would help me a lot financially, since the money would be going straight to graduate school.”

Mehta has competed twice before. She made it to the top-10 her freshman year but did not place as a sophomore.

“You never know what will happen,” she said. “I don’t have my expectations too high. Regardless of what happens, it’s a fun thing to do.”

This is the sixth year of the Campus Super Star competition, said Dick Leventhal, the event chairperson.

“I think the talent part of the show is very unique,” he said. “It seems to be more competitive each year.”

The competition is open to students enrolled in any college or university in Indiana. This year, the semi-finals will feature performers from four different schools, including IU-Bloomington, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, Anderson University and Butler University.

“This is the only competition in our state, that I know of, which includes all different schools in Indiana,” Aft said.

The semi-final show is free to students. Aft said she encourages people to come out and enjoy the talent Indiana has to offer.

“It’s going to be a great night of music, free to all students,” she said. “It’s a great way to spend a Wednesday night.”