Wisconsin's Got Talent
From rappers to spoken word, this year's Wisconsin's Got Talent was full to the brim with extraordinary student talent. The set list for the night featured 10 contestants, two dance performances, and a special guest appearance from last year's winner.
The show opened with a performance by Hypnotiq, UW-Madison's hip-hop dance crew that delivered a high-energy performance that got the audience excited for the talent happening onstage that night.
Some of the many talents included singing, spoken word, rapping, beat boxing, and piano playing. Our first place winner was Nakila Robinson, who scored herself a $400 value from the University Bookstore with her original spoken word piece, "Praise Wisconsin." Through theatricality, poetry, and hip-hop, Nakila engaged with the audience and establisehed a call-and-response system so audience members could "mmm," "aah," snap their fingers, or even flip a chair in agreement.
Second place went to Jake Padorr, who looped sounds of himself beatboxing and playing the guitar in a cover of Death Cab for Cutie's, "I Will Possess Your Heart," winning himself a pair of studio headphones courtesy of the DoIT Tech Store.
Lastly, third place was claimed by rapper Jake Feuerstein with his song, "Home Again," and he received a $50 gift card to the University Book Store.
After each of the contestants gave it their all, last year's winner Casey Schmoeger proved she's still got the vocal chops with her cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep."
While the audience voted for their favorite talent, the School of Bhangra dazzled and closed out the show with their performance. With a hybrid of traditional Indian folk music and hip-hop influences, the Bhangra team brought the audience to their feet with impressive choreography and technique.
When talking to the audience about their experience at this year's show, we heard statements like, "The energy was phenomenal" and "I was surprised to see so many different majors and types of students across the board here tonight."
Once again, WASB would like to thank all of the contestants, special performers, and appearances by Bucky Badger and our emcee Olivia Mornae for an incredible night at Wisconsin's Got Talent!
