When touring West Virginia University, Holly Hunsberger, a sophomore chemistry major from Bridgeton, N.J., caught the final round of the 2007 Mountaineer Idol Competition and decided that she wanted to participate.
After running late to her audition, she didn’t even think she would make it to the first round. But, with support from her dorm, friends and family, Hunsberger was named the 2008 winner on Nov. 9 – her 18th birthday.
Mountaineer Idol began six years ago as part of WVUp All Night, when one WVU student, Marcy Lane, was selected as a finalist on American Idol. Marcy’s experience inspired Sonja Wilson, senior program coordinator and Mountaineer Week advisor, to start a program like American Idol on campus.
Mountaineer Idol is a singing competition exactly like the popular TV series American Idol. There is a preliminary competition where the top 15 contestants are selected. From there, the top 15 continue through six elimination rounds. Each elimination round has a particular theme, for example the Homecoming/Diversity Week elimination round is “Country and Motown,” and is held in the Mountainlair Ballrooms.
“We literally had to sign a ten page contract to use the ‘Idol’ name and rules,” said Wilson. Sponsors include American Idol and Coca-Cola.
Qualified faculty and staff are selected each week to judge the elimination rounds. Additionally, celebrity judges, such as Jessica Lynch, are brought in for each elimination round.
This year, Mountaineer Idol is hosting a special elimination round titled “Mountaineer Idol Gives Back.” They will be collecting teddy bears for Jessi’s Pals, an organization that collects stuffed animals and donates them to the WVU Children’s Hospital.
The winner of the competition not only receives a $1,000 monetary prize but also gets to sing the national anthem at one of the largest basketball games, the lighting of Woodburn Circle, the president’s home and the opening ceremonies of Mountaineer Week, in addition to about 12 other performances.
“After winning the competition, I got to see a whole different side of WVU and learned a lot about the University that I never would’ve known without this opportunity,” said Hunsberger.
The competition spans the entire fall semester, starting with a preliminary competition on Wednesday (Sept. 2) and ending on Nov. 8. The preliminary competition will be held from 4-6 p.m. in the Shenandoah room of the Mountainlair.
“Because the competition spans the entire semester, the finalists become very good friends. They even help each other out with song choices and provide positive feedback to each other,” Wilson said.
Students can register by calling the Mountainlair Administrative Offices at 304-293-2702 or by emailing Sonja.Wilson@mail.wvu.edu. A mandatory meeting will be held on Tuesday (Sept. 1) for anyone interested in being a contestant. The meeting will be at 5 p.m. in Hatfields; all contestants must register by the end of the meeting.
A Mountaineer Idol preview will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Aug. 28) in the Mountainlair food court. The first elimination round will be held on Sept. 11 at 8:30 p.m. in the Mountainlair ballrooms.