DHS Factor showcases students’ talents
In 2004 Simon Cowell created a show where those lucky enough to have a special talent could share it with the world. He called it the “X Factor”: the indefinable “something” that makes for a star.
In 2013, DHS created an even better show with even better people who had an even better “Factor”: The “DHS Factor.”
dOn Jan. 17, eight acts took the stage with performances that left the audience with their jaws dropped. Ranging from singing in Spanish to beat boxing, the performers (teachers included) all showed the potential to be named the first DHS Factor of all-time.
The show kicked off with a solid classic rock performance by Eternal Zest, a band formed by three juniors, and gears shifted quickly when Aditya Tudladhar soothed the crowd with a mellow Amy Winehouse song.
After a bilingual performance from Jose Araluz and LeElliea Estrada, the crowd was introduced to Xavier Berkeley, a man with moves that could woo any lady. Several crowd pleasing performances followed.
Long story short, every act was impressive. Come intermission, the lobby was bustling with voters anxious to slip their ticket into the voting box of their favorite contestant. The chatter around the room was full of people make comments along the lines of, “Oh my god I am shocked!” or “My mind was blown!” And then there was the classic: “Dayummmm…”
Post-intermission, all crowd members returned to their seats and the drumroll began. Berkeley and the duet of Jacob Muller and Eddie Berlin tied for third place. Seniors Muller and Berlin sang a mesh of classic hits that had everyone singing along, clapping and bobbing their heads.
Second place went to Scott Stone, whose humble personality and stunning voice caught everyone’s attention. While shy offstage, Stone’s comfort onstage impressed all viewers.
And finally, the drumroll reached a maximum volume when the DHS Factor was announced: White Rice!
Who?
Beat boxing is one of those things that one could call impossible. But apparently it’s not. When seniors Jeremy Chen, David Matthews, and Kunwoo Hong took the stage for a solid ten minutes of freestyle beat boxing and a bit of Gangnam Style, the reaction of the audience was wild. Every person there seemed like a lifetime fan of the group, despite this being their first big performance together.
How do they do it? Practice, practice, and tracktice. The group met through Track and Field, and came up with the name by meshing the injury treatment of rice with the fact that two of the members were Asian. “And then I’m white, so naturally, it became white rice,” Matthews said.
The group was honored to take home the title.
“Honestly it was just so much fun to do that. It was the experience that we really wanted, and the fact that people really enjoyed it and appreciate beat boxing was beyond awesome,” Chen said.
The group gave an encore performance on the quad at lunch the following day.
