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Yarah Almoshaikah

   Singing can be one of the easiest ways to communicate your feelings. From artists like Bruno Mars to Giveon, singing it out is one of the best ways to express yourself. With all the anticipation for this year’s Spirit Week, SGA’s surprise Lip-sync Contest brought the spotlight to students you never would’ve expected to see!

   As students filled the cafeteria this Tuesday, the word of the contest spread like wildfire. With MCs Alexander Champagne and Steven Fitz-Henley on the mic, as well as Jorge Munoz in the sound booth, the event was sure to be a hit. After adding their own personal touch to the scripts, the duo strutted down the stage and began the show.

   The A-lunch crowd had no idea what they were in for. After announcing the arrival of SGA’s first Lip-sync Contest, both Jalen Vaughan and Manuel Almonte hit. Though the pair knew each other, their coincidental choice of performing a drake song was a complete surprise. And while Jalen knew his song in its entirety, Manuel found himself having no clue what he was doing. “Being up there booed was definitely an unfortunate moment in my life, but it’s only another drive for me to get better.” But when asked if he would do it all over again, he confidently expressed that he would! “It was definitely a good experience, but next time I’ll come back a little stronger. Knowing the lyrics could’ve been super helpful up there, but overall I had fun.”

   B-lunch on the other hand, was an entirely different experience. As news of the contest began to spread, students swarmed the stage awaiting its kick off. But once the clock struck 11:50 AM, the show began for its final time this year. After its first run, Alexander and Steven got the hang of it much faster this time. “Honestly, I was pretty nervous the first time. Champagne and I practiced so many times to make sure we didn’t embarrass ourselves. We were nervous together, but having him there definitely made the whole thing more enjoyable for sure. But the two performances weren’t exactly the same, as Marko Barrera and Adam Abougendia had climbed the stage and began their duet impersonating Silk Sonic. Steven went as far to say that he and Alex were the best performers, but Marko and Adam were a close second.

  Though the contest had clearly hyped up the crowd, the cafeteria began to burst with overly-enthusiastic students. Marko Barrera, one of the seniors to take the stage, claimed that being apart of the contest was fun—to an extent.`To be one of the participants in the first Lip-sync Contest was pretty nice, even though the crowd wasn’t as electric as I thought it would be.” Demanding for the show to go on, SGA had to stop the show before it went too far. Laisha Laracuente, one of SGA’s newest seniors, was forced to dismiss students after they failed to keep off the runway. “The show unfortunately had to be stopped after the Lip-sync contest because students were trying to influence more people to get on the stage and it got too carried away. Everyone was quickly then dismissed from the cafeteria.”

   Regardless of the mixed feedback from students, SGA’s found their first Lip-sync battle to be a huge success. The Spirit week team, along with the help of performers had completed their goal of promoting SGA’s future events, including the Fall pep rally taking place in just a couple days. Whether the Lip-sync Contest returns next year is out of their hands, but it remains to be a student-favorite!