Student performers stun at first night of Idol

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Photo: Sophomore Estrella Navarrete stands and listens to judges Kathleen Deegan and Arielle Deem.

By Alexandra Zurborg,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff-

The first night of Davis Idol kicked off without a hitch with about a hundred people in the audience, two experienced judges and nine students competing to make it to the final round on Feb. 2.

The two judges for Friday’s competition were Kathleen Deegan, whose daughter was a madrigal and participated in the choir at Saint James, and Arielle Deem, the first sophomore to win DHS Idol who was also a madrigal and gave a performance at the end of the competition.

First up to sing was sophomore Sophie Duhameau performing “When We Were Young” by Adele with nothing but good feedback from the judges. “I was really nervous but also really grateful for my friends for coming and being so supportive,” Duhameau said

Next up was junior Bela Acosta singing “The Nearness of You.” Acosta instantly caught Deegan’s attention.

LISTEN to junior Bela Acosta perform at night one of DHS Idol:

The next performer, senior Analeah Elohim, was excited but sad since this will be her last year of high school. Singing, “Why Don’t We Fall in Love”, Deem appreciated that Elohim got up on that stage and sang such a difficult song.

Unfortunately,  there were supposed to be ten singing at Davis Idol that night, but one was missing. Contestant number four sophomore Jack Jessen was sick and could not participate.

Senior Cinnamon Dale took Jack’s place. Dale participated the previous year and came back to sing an original song they wrote called “Stars.”

LISTEN to singer Cinnamon Dale talk about handling pre-performance nerves:

Senior Megan Abbanat sang “Heart Attack” by Demi Lovato, followed by sophomore Gabby Marquez who dedicated her performance to her mom. Marquez sang “I’ll Never Love Again” from the movie “A Star is Born”.

Sophomore Natalie Ries was next up to sing. She participates in the jazz choir at DHS and decided to sing “Scars to your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara.

“It was just really fun. I really felt like myself up there and I felt like I was able to get my message across to the audience,” Ries said. “I’m just really glad I picked the song that I did because it has a really positive message that people need to hear.”

Sophomore Estrella Navarrete was timid as she stepped out on stage. But once she finished her song, “Idontwannabeyouanymore” by Billie Eilish, the judges reassured her that there was no reason to be nervous.

Last to perform was sophomore Avital Schwarz, singing “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri. This was her first time performing in front of an audience of this size. Once she finished, the judges loved it.

The audience agreed with the judges views and Schwarz won the people’s choice award for night one and will be heading straight to the finals.

“It takes so much courage to come out here and perform, but all of the contestants did an absolutely incredible job,” Deegan said.