Jac Trimble wins Dub Idol

Miriam Himes | Opinion Editor

A long line of excited students stood outside Keenan last night in feverish anticipation of the long awaited Dub Idol. 

In its 9th season, Dub Idol has risen to be one of the most looked forward to and loved event by students across campus.  It has been a huge success for ACE, the UNCW campus organization that hosts the show, largely due to the incredible talent that can be found within the student body and the opportunity for students to see their classmates and friends embrace their passionate love for music and sing their hearts out on the Dub Idol stage. 

The competition consisted of 10 contestants in total, each one representing a different living area on campus. Dub Idol began with friendly introductions of the contestants and judges by the charismatic and playful hosts, Nic Cannon and Laura Garmony.

This year’s judges were Brad Reid, retiring President of Housing and Residence Life, Cody Greene, the Assistant Residence Coordinator of Graham-Hewlett, and Pat Leonard, and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs. After each performance, two of the three judges were invited to make a comment on the contestant and their musical talent.

The talent, power and passion of music and of this amicable competition was evidenced through the first performer, who, according to the judges “Lit up the stage with her incredible voice and enthusiastic spirit”.  

Sydney Burton opened Dub Idol with “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia and showed off her expansive vocal range and charismatic stage presence.

While Burton did not place in the competition, several outraged students voiced their opinions to me following the show.  One student expressed her surprise for Burton’s loss due to the fact that “Sydney’s voice was by far the most unique and powerful of all the performers”.  Despite the loss, however, other students noticed her continued “positive energy” even after the disappointing reveal.

Burton’s performance was immediately followed by a folk/country tribute by Jessie Aiken, who as Brad Reid said so delicately, “rocked her red dress”.

The judges continued to be impressed by the UNCW singers when Katie Kromer owned the stage and engaged the audience through the popular 2003 anthem,“A Moment Like This”.  Her performance, followed by standing ovations as the audience celebrated each performer, was immediately followed by an appearance by The Seahawkappeallas, one of three UNCW musical acapella  groups that performed throughout the Dub Idol show.

Evan Housel, Quinton Morgan, and Tyler Killebrew performed between the acapella performances and all received high praise from the judges.

Housel, a freshman representing Galloway, borrowed a song from the American Idol winner, Kris Allen, and performed a rendition of “Heartless” by Kanye West.

Dub Idol moved from a classic interpretation of this Rap song to an even softer medley as Morgan graced the stage with him and his guitar.  The first out of two contestants to bring their own instruments to the stage, Morgan received exceptional feedback from the judges who were impressed with his “duel talent”.

Killebrew, an enthusiastic freshman from Cornerstone, continued in the soft acoustic genre with his performance of “Hallelujah”, a karaoke classic and immediate crowd pleaser. The Seabelles, the next acapella group to perform, picked up the pace again with a multi-part rendition of “Somebody to Love”. 

Avianne Harris, Brandon Butorovich, Miranda Fabian, and Jac Trimble ended the songs performed by contestants and continued to awe the judges.

Trimble ended and ultimately won the contest by performing his own piano rendition of the classical and gripping song, “Sunday Morning”.  Reid was nearly in tears by the end of the song, inspired by Trimble’s powerful voice and piano-playing skills. 

Overall, the audience was incredibly involved, engaged, and enthusiastic about seeing their peers perform in Keenan.  While Trimble won first, Kromer took second, and Buturovich accepted third, the judges expressed their enjoyment of all contestants’ pieces and acknowledged the incredible and unique talent each performer displayed last night.