Kicking off the Spring 2023 semester with one of the most anticipated annual events here at West Liberty University, Topper Idol! Topper Idol is a singing competition inspired by the reality television show “American Idol.” Students that wish to participate must sing a karaoke song during the event. The event is held in the Union Ballroom every Tuesday in February.

Each week, contestants are given a themed category to choose a song from. The following week they will have the chance to perform the song for selected judges and the student audience. After all contestants perform, the judges and students will vote on who they think sang the best and determine who should move on to perform again next week.

The top three contests will win prizes, one of the top prizes includes a scholarship of up to $1,000! Not only that but various prizes are given away. In between contestants, audience members can participate in games.

Wrapping up the third week of Topper Idol, the themed category was Broadway. The songs performed were “Dancing Queen” by Abba, “Hellfire” from Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, “She Used to Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles and “Arabian Nights” from Disney’s Aladdin. After all performances took place and votes were in, two contestants were unfortunately eliminated from the competition, leaving three contestants to perform next week.

 Judges announced that unlike the previous weeks,, week four will not have a theme, giving the contestants the freedom to choose any song that they wish to perform. Additionally, next week students will not be given the opportunity to vote on their favorite performer, leaving the decision entirely up to the judges. With only three remaining contestants, they will all win a prize for making it into the final week of the competition.

Week four, the final week of Topper Idol will begin Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Union Ballroom and is open to all students and faculty. Stop by to see who will win Topper Idol and be awarded a scholarship!