What do Kelly Clarkson and Bradley University have in common? Well for one part Clarkson was the first person to win the hit singing competition “American Idol,” and Bradley will soon crown its first winner of its own “Bradley Idol,” on April 20. Planned by the Activities Council at Bradley University (ACBU), this will bet the first edition of the event.
The planning of this event started back in the first semester of the 2017-2018 school year, when ACBU event coordinators attended the National Association for Campus Activities Conference (NACA) along with other schools’ activity organizers from across the Midwest. At NACA, many different artists, comedians, and other acts were showcased for the representatives present.
The Special Event Coordinators for ACBU are Freshman Nursing major Skylar Mitchell and Sophomore Nursing major Megan DeSmet. They were inspired by another school having a similar event called the “R Factor,” and since then they began planning.
As to why they wanted to plan Bradley Idol, DeSmet said “Considering we do not have many campus traditions, we thought bringing Bradley Idol to campus would be a great tradition to start as it really gets the students involved.”
From there they had to figure out many other logistics from, how they wanted to choose contestants to how they present the event itself. They started on choosing an MC for the event and they decided on bringing in up and coming artist Dan Henig. Henig is most known for his popular music cover for the song “Get Low.”
When it came to choosing contestants Mitchell said “We decided on using Google Forms.” And as for the marking she continued “We posted on out social media and put up posters all over campus.”
After the word got out and submissions rolled in, Mitchell and DeSmet, along with other ACBU members, decided on a top 10. With 40 entries, there was only one round to decide the top 10 who would be performing at the event. The hope is that in future editions more students get involved and that there would be more rounds of competition.
Among all the competitors, there was a wide variety of reasons for wanting to participate
Audrey Roney, sophomore TV arts, marketing and music entertainment industry major, said “I love singing and thought it would be something perfect for me to do here at Bradley.”
Similarly, freshman psychology major Kelly Hicks said “I haven’t had the opportunity to perform in quite a while so I decided to audition.”
In an effort to get the entire Bradley community involved, Mitchell and DeSmet chose Lt. Officer Savage, Cori Craig, and Prof. Christopher Marsh to be the judges. However they did note that the audience will have a big part in choosing the winners.
This whole thing isn’t just for fun however, as there are prizes. The prizes consist of $250, $150, and $100 gift cards to first, second and third places respectively.
Bradley Idol will soon be a tradition everyone will look forward to. Be sure to check it out Friday, April 20 at 5 in the Renaissance Coliseum.