CONCORDIA FRESHMAN SINGS IN FARGO STAR

friends and family to the event. Wawers enjoyed having people there to support her. Celia Holten, who went to watch, has known Wawers since elementary school. I know this sounds cheesy, but I loved seeing how passionate Jenna is about singing, Holten said. During the nal, Wawers competed with nine other nalists at e Venue at e Hub. When audience members arrived at the Hub, they received ballots to cast their vote. Wawers performed last. Wahpeton high school senior 18-yearold Addie Onchuck, who brought a fan bus to the event, won the competition. It is not always talentits who you can get to vote, Wawers said. Freshman Moorhead native Erik Bye agreed. It seemed like it was more of a popularity contest, he said. e girl that won wasnt the best (musically), but she had a lot of people there supporting her, he said. Peterson agreed. Oh, its totally based on the audience voting. If you bring the most friends you win, he said. ats how that gig is. Whether its fair or not, thats not the point. Wawers began singing when she joined choir her freshman year of high school, but she doesnt participate in choir at Concordia. Fargo Star was a fun chance for her to get up on stage and perform. Before the nal, Wawers friend, freshman Antonio Burks, didnt even know she sang. Im the belt-it in my basement kind of girl, she said.

Fargo native and Concordia freshman Jenna Wawers has known about the Fargo Star competition for years. is year her parents encouraged her to audition by submitting a YouTube video. Wawers agreed. For her audition, Wawers sang Valerie by Amy Winehouse. Its my go-to song. It was nice and upbeat and thats what I gravitate towards, she said. e Fargo Star is a singing competition that takes place each year in March. Once the YouTube video submissions are in, the videos are divided into three rounds and then posted with the contestants names on the Fargo Forum website. en fans were allowed to vote for the top two in each round. ese singers would advance to the nal. In round four, everyone who hadnt made the nal could audition for one of four wild card spots. Although Wawers didnt make it in the rst round, she made it through during round four. I knew that if I just stopped it (the competition) altogether I probably wouldnt make it in, she said. So I tried to stay

positive. A er the nalists were announced, Wawers picked the song she would sing in the nal. Wawers chose Fine by Me by Andy Grammer. e songs are then sent to Russell Peterson, who is part of the band Post-Traumatic Funk Syndrome. Peterson is also an associate professor of music at Concordia. Transcribing the music usually takes about 40 hours, he said. en the night before the competition, the competitors rehearse with the band. is is the second year that the Post-Traumatic Funk Syndrome has played for the Fargo Star competition. One di culty about the Fargo Star competition is that many of the competitors sing country songs, Peterson said. I think we are a little out of our comfort zone, he said. But I think we do it well. Freshman Sarah Gerber attended the event to support Wawers. It is great opportunity to sing at a venue with a live band. I think it was more about the experience rather than the actual winner, Gerber said. Finalists were encouraged to invite

Originally published in e Concordian on April 11, 2013 Written by Kaia Lunde 13