Laila Plamondon '08 Named First Smith Superstar

Though I'm usually glued to my TV on Thursday nights at 9:00 p.m. to watch "CSI," I made an exception last week to go to Smith Superstar - and I definitely don't regret it! Grissom is nothing compared to Pat Skarda jumping around in a manner rather unexpected from an English professor.Hosts Hayden Howland '06 and Arianne Abela '08 started off the night by announcing a hilarious introduction video featuring the judges: Deanna Joseph, director of College Chorus; and Jonathan Hirsh, director of the Glee Club and Orchestra; as well as Carol Christ. Of course, anything with Carol Christ in it is automatically awesome, and this video was no different - after winning Hirsh's directing baton by beating him in a game of Go Fish, she attempts to use it as a magic wand.

After a performance by Groove, Jennifer Gabrielle '06 started off the competition by singing "Think" by Aretha Franklin. All performers had the option of performing karaoke-style with background music, but some chose not to.

Next came Danielle Charlemagne '09, who made the gutsy choice to sing "Black Magic" a cappella. In her beautiful golden gown, it was hard to believe that she never sings in front of people, except in church, which she explained before beginning her selection. Two other contestants also made the gutsy move to sing a cappella: Itoro Udofia '09, who sang "Feeling Good;" and Julia Wu '08, who sang "A Moment Like This."

Two contestants chose to sing Lauryn Hill songs: Elena Williams '06 sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You;" and Liz Mongrello '09 sang "Killing Me Softly." Mongrello really commanded the stage and knew how to work the mic.

Next came Laura Jacoba-Epstein '08, who really changed things up by accompanying herself on her guitar while singing "Wild Thing," complete with the spoken "Wild Thing, I think I love you," which the crowd cracked up at. Her personality was just awesome, and she really made the song her own.

The last two songs couldn't have been more different - Kaitlin Rawluk '06 sang "To The Moon" by Frank Sinatra, and Laila Plamondon '08 sang "Lady Marmalade" from "Moulin Rouge." Rollick was very classy - and classic - in an elegant black dress, and the song showed her vocal ability well. Judge Deanna Joseph agreed, mocking Randy from "American Idol" when she commented: "Dawg, you're the dawg, man!"

Plamondon, the final contestant, really stood out with her popular song choice and incredible stage presence. Not only did she do each singer's individual part (including Lil' Kim's "uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh"), but she also broke into a rap.

After all of the contestants performed their first songs, the audience voted by putting their tickets received at the door into the bottles for their favorite contestants, though Hirsh joked, "How do you text your vote?" mocking the real American Idol and their voting by text message.

The five singers with the most votes moved on: Charlemagne, Williams, Mongrello, Jacoba-Epstein and Plamondon. Charlemagne began with a repeat of Lauryn Hill's "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You," to which Hirsh responded, "That was quite a performance and you're a force to be reckoned with." Williams came next with "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera. She was followed by Mongrello with "Broken Wings" by Martina McBride, a song choice that really showed off her voice as well as her versatility. Jacoba-Epstein was next, and though she forgot the words to "Time Goes By," she made the audience laugh with an "interpretive dance."

Once again the final performer was Plamondon, who made the bold move of singing "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, an incredibly difficult song that she really rocked.

Other highlights throughout the night included performances by the Noteables and the Smithereens, as well as Economics professor Randy Bartlett and English professor Pat Skarda. Bartlett performed the "Smith College Senior Year Blues" that he previously wrote for a senior class fundraiser, and he accompanied himself on his guitar. One of the best lines had to be, "My parents called last night/They said the money stops in May/I better get down to the CDO/but I don't even know the way."

Skarda was quite possibly the most entertaining part of the night, as she led the audience in an interesting dance called "Toody Ta" - a series of motions performed while the audience chanted "Toody Ta, Toody Ta, Toody Ta-Ta." By the end of the song/dance, the sequence was "thumbs up, elbows back, feet apart, knees together, bottom up, tongue out, eyes closed, turn around" - it was truly a spectacle.

The final two competitors, Williams and Plamondon, were determined by audience applause - which was somewhat disappointing, as I would have liked to see Mongrello go to the final two with Plamondon. For her final performance, Williams performed "Real Love" a cappella; though she had planned to sing "Lady Marmalade," she opted not to after Plamondon had performed. Plamondon performed "Underneath Your Clothes," showing once again that she could not only rock upbeat pop songs like "Lady Marmalade," but also slower ballads.

After over two hours, the judges determined from audience cheering that the first Smith Superstar was "Laila!" Though many people had left by that time, it was worth staying.

Featuring some gorgeous singing, hilarious videos, awesome a cappella groups and performances by professors, the first Smith Superstar was definitely a hit, and I'd be willing to miss "CSI" and "ER" again next year.