The audience played judge as 10 acts performed in this year’s “Ethnic Idol.” But unlike the popular television show, “American Idol,” the stars also performed original songs, poetry and martial arts routines.
Organized by the Asian Pacific American Student Union, the event is considered the closing ceremony for Asian heritage month. Sunday night, in the EMU ballroom, 10 sets of artists were given the stage and an opportunity to perform. One of the evening’s co-hosts, Nancy Saechao, an active member of the APASU, said the annual event is designed to showcase talent from diverse communities.
“Tonight is about people like me, and like ya’ll, that aren’t presented on TV and in literature doing positive things,” Saechao said during the show’s opening.
The APASU is a student organization of people of either full or partial Asian Pacific Islander decent. The group began in 1972 when a group of Asian American students decided to form an organization to fulfill their distinct social and academic concerns, according to an APASU pamphlet.
The evening’s entertainment started with three original songs by GoodForAmerica, a band composed of two guitarists and a vocalist.
Later, the Wushu club demonstrated a martial arts routine usually reserved for competition. Wushu is the official Chinese national sport, and is the most common form of martial arts used in movies. It was prevalent in such films as “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” and “The Matrix” series. University senior David Ng, a participant in the evening’s performance, has been practicing Wushu since his freshman year.
“Wushu is a performance-oriented type of kung fu,” he said. “Performances are scored on technical aspects, kind of like gymnastics.”
Amy Tai and Robin Kim fused hip-hop and R&B in their performance. Kim rapped lyrics in English and Korean while Tai complemented him with her modern R&B-style vocals.
“We have been performing for about two years,” she said. “Not really serious, we just do it for fun.”
Student bands Sideways and Big Roy and the Twigs each played original rock material. Kit Meyers recited original poetry that centered on topics of race, war and government. These performances all preceded Sam Grunseth’s folk music.
Nestor Ugale, a graduating senior from Hawaii, performed covers of modern R&B and rock with a twist – a ukulele. Performing solo, Ugale merged his Hawaiian music with contemporary pop.
Phormula, a hip-hop band that describes its sound as “jaw-droppingly pop,” gave the evening’s final performance.
The event lasted nearly three hours, and at the end contestants received a bouquet of flowers and received audience applause to determine the winner.
Ugale and Phormula were deemed the newest Ethnic Idol, though all contestants came out on top for receiving an opportunity to perform that is not usually available, Saechao said.
The night shifted to a more serious tone mid-way through the event when University senior Arya Surowidjojo spoke about tragedy in Indonesia. He told the audience about the earthquake that hit Central Java on May 27. About 6,000 people have died following the earthquake and 600,000 have been dispossessed, he said.
“When I say dispossessed I mean they have been forced out of their houses, they are sleeping in tents, and some not even that,” Surowidjojo said.
The International Student Association is hosting a candlelight vigil on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the EMU amphitheater and a “Save the Quake Victims” band show on Friday from 2 pm. to 4 p.m., also in the amphitheater. Donations for the earthquake victims will be accepted at these events.