February 23, 2011
‘Seattle Superstar to be chosen at performance Feb. 26
Six UW students are betting fans of Americas Got Talent will come out for the final round of their own competition, Seattle Superstar Search. The six were students in a business class that required them to create a company, so they decided to produce a talent competition, the culminating event of which is on Saturday, Feb. 26.
The Percussion Ensemble will perform May 29 in Meany Studio Theater.
The group had more than 50 entries at the beginning of two rounds of competition, said spokesperson Kimi Goto — including singers, dancers, musicians and even a couple of standup comedians. Entrants performed in front of judges, then each act was recorded and the video posted on the groups website, where the public could vote on who should advance. Twenty-two contestants went on to the second round, where the same procedure was followed. Now 10 finalists will compete in a live show at 7 p.m. in 130 Kane.
The winner will get a grand prize of $1,000 and the title of Seattles First Superstar. Goto said she and others in her group pitched their idea to a panel of investors and were given $3,000. The prize money comes from that budget. The judges for the final event are Sanjaya Malakar, who made it into the finals of American Idol; Andrew Ward, a producer of Americas Got Talent; and Travis Hay, a local music writer. The audience will vote on the winner using live texting.
Members of the audience will also get free tickets to the first-ever Seattle filming of Americas Got Talent on March 2 and 3 at the Paramount Theater. “Representatives from the show contacted us, hoping that some of our contestants would audition for them, and they ended up giving us tickets,” Goti said.
There will be a raffle at the event for a baseball glove signed by pitcher Tim Lincecum.
Goti said shes learned a lot in the process of planning the competition, most of it about planning and starting early. And she said it had been fun but also stressful. “Its really taken over our lives at this point,” she said.
But she hinted that she and her colleagues might return to run the competition again next year, even though all of them will graduate in June.
Tickets are available on the website for $10 or $15 for VIP seating (first eight rows). Tickets will be $15 and $20 at the door.
