Dartmouth Idol is always a fun event, and this year proved true. There were 6 strong finalist singers, with a great support from the band and backup chorus.
My favorite was Hanover local Kate Budney, veteran of many shows at Hanover High. She sang very well with her solo Turn the Beat Around, even though her video intro had no sound. For the duet, she was unfortunately paired with a much weaker Idol semi-finalist.
Eni Oyeleye is a bass, which is not your typical Idol performer. His low voice and and first song was beautiful, with a good video to go along – Seriously. But I think he clinched it with the second half with a fun mix of bass songs that had the crowd rocking. He did end up winning, which wasn’t a surprise.
A lot was made of Soomin having a classical background, but she did just fine.
The show did not have as much Walt stuff as previous years, but still too much. We don’t really need his asides during the show.
The judges were all past Idol contestants. I remembered Jimmy Ragan in particular. Judge Deby seemed completely random in her remarks.
Voting was by texting a value to a special number, so the results came in very quickly. Winner Eni, Caroline in second, and Soomin in third.