By Chloe Cochran
April 16 was filled with many different events as tennis and softball held their senior days and the theater department held their last showing of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. On top of musicals and athletic performances, Southern Virginia University’s Student Life hosted SVU Idol (an event that hadn’t occurred since 2020).
SVU Idol consisted of 11 individuals singing their hearts out, with the hopes of being voted on to the final three. Once each participant was given a chance to share their talent with the crowd, it was the audience’s turn to vote for their favorite singer.
Out of those votes, the top three finalists were chosen based off of popularity. Once the three finalists were chosen, they were allowed one more chance at singing towards the audience in hopes of winning their vote once more.
The top three finalists included Emily Oldham(‘23), Rhys McRoberts(’22) and the Swedish Fish Band.
While all contestants performed effortlessly, only one could come out on top: Emily Oldham. Oldham sang Lady Gaga’s “Shallow” and Lauren Daigle’s “You Say.”
Of her victory, Oldham said,
“I was super nervous hearing how great everyone else sounded and I waited so long to sing (being the last performer). But, as soon as I got on stage and everyone I love was cheering for me, it was a reminder that I have so many people that have my back. I loved being able to look into the crowd and see a visual representation of that support. It was surreal.”
SVU Idol Winner was originally published in The Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.