On Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m., E-Town Idol, the annual student and staff talent show, kicked off. The show was organized and hosted by Carlton Rosemond, the Duplicating Center and Mailroom Specialist at the school, who walked in singing.

The talent show had a large decline in participation after making a return from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, this year the show had more than ten student acts, with multiple returning performers. The majority of acts were singing related, though there were a few that were spoken word or dance.

The small crowd reacted well to many of the acts, including a creative vocal and dance act from Malory Frouin and Georgia Balasis, a strong vocal performance from Nyel Rollins and a self-written rap from Ian Cummings.

The prize pool totaled $600 donated by a Northwestern fraternity. $300 was set aside for the winner, with $200 and $100 for second and third place, respectively. The first place contestant also won a chance to compete at a regional talent show. This year, the prize money was the biggest it had been post-COVID.

The third place winner was returning performer Cummings.

“It was fun to perform my own song and instrumental,” said Cummings.

The senior said that he knew that he would place, but also that you, “can’t always get first, but you can get close.”

Second place was given to newcomer Nyel Rollins, who cultivated an exciting atmosphere with her voice control.

She called E-Town Idol fun, and the judges called her performance, “captivating.”

The $300 winner was Denise Bias, who performed last. With her powerful vocals leaving the judges speechless and the deliberate choice to place her performance last, she was the clear winner in many spectators’ eyes.

“[E-Town Idol was] very heartfelt, exhilarating and emotional,” said Bias.