Ohio University junior Ashlee Ryan won the grand prize of a quarter's worth of in-state tuition in the OU Idol contest Saturday night in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
Dedrick Bonner won runner up and Hugh McMullen won second runner up. They both received gift certificates toward purchasing books for up to $250, said Chad Barnhardt, assistant director for campus programs.
Ten students competed for the grand prize valued at $2,590 by singing in front of an audience and three judges.
The judges, Dustin Wood and Aslyne Rodriguez, student trustees, and Gabriel Gonzalez, president of Hip Hop Congress, gave the singers feedback on their performances and offered them advice and criticism after each song. The audience voted for their favorite performance after hearing all ten singers perform.
Ryan, a communications and pharmacy major, sang Call on Jesus by Nicole Mullen. She said she picked this song because she likes to sing gospel music.
Gospel has always been my passion. God got me this far and I thought I would do something for him
Ryan said.
Ryan said the song was familiar to her, so she practiced the song two or three times on her way into town this weekend in order to prepare for OU Idol. She said she was nervous about her throat getting dry because it tends to do that in the winter.
Ryan said she has sung since she was 9, but has had no formal vocal training. She takes jobs singing at churches, fairs, weddings and funerals.
One of the reasons Ryan decided to compete in OU Idol was for the grand prize.
My parents are graciously paying for my college which will end up being eight years. This is the only way I will ever be able to pay them back Ryan said.
OU Idol is a new addition to the late-night programming offered on campus that provides an alternative to drinking, Barnhardt said. He said the Division of Student Affairs and the Provost's Office promoted the program by making a large monetary contribution to it.
Contestants had to sing in two different rounds during the past four weeks to compete in the finals, Barnhardt said. Each of the greens held a preliminary round in which all students were welcome to compete. There was also a preliminary round held in Baker Center Ballroom for off-campus students. Twenty students competed in the semi-finals Tuesday and the top ten went on to compete in the finals, Barnhardt said.
Freshmen Sarah Schaff and Lauren Elliott attended the finals performance together. Schaff said she went to the semi-final competition and thought the performances were amazing. She said she had looked forward to the finals competition all week.
Part of the reason she looked forward to the competition was because the audience voted for the winner, Schaff said.
It actually mattered who I voted for because of the money
she said.
Ryan said the OU Idol experience was different because she had never sang in front of her peers, even though singing has always been a part of her life.
This experience has been humbling and an honor
Ryan said.
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Ashlee Ryan wins the title of OU Idol on Saturday at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. As the winner, she received one quarter of in-state tuition.
