Bowie Idol: A tradition since 1988
Gause and Barajas big winners at the the festive showing
Senior DJ Fortner looks out in to the audience, passionately singing “Feeling Good” by Michael Bublé . Fortner not only sang but he danced during his soulful performance.
May 2, 2016
Every year at Bowie since the school opened in 1988, the choir program and the student council have organized and put on the Bowie Idol show. This is a platform for students to show off their performing skills and musical talent. The competition follows an American Idol type format where about 40 people audition and compete for the top place from there.
Teacher James Ellerbrock helps with student council activity as well as helping to plan both Bowie Idol and Mr. Bulldog each year.
Ellerbrock hopes to put on a show and get people to come back each year. The organizers have to work hard each year getting acts that will get the students interested.
“We’re putting on a show, you want the audience to enjoy the show. If we put on a bad show, and people don’t like it they won’t come back,” Ellerbrock said. “It’s the same thing with Mr. Bulldog, we put on a good show and the audience enjoys it.”
Many students participated this year including Jeremiah Gause and Sarah Barajas, DJ Fortner, Blake Moyer, and Melina Gary. Each of the 40 students that auditioned hoped to take home the title of ‘Bowie Idol.’ There is a committee of students that is put together to choose which auditions get in the show and which ones don’t.
The student council and faculty members don’t get to see if all their hard work was worth it until the day that 500 students flood into the theater. They watch the students’ reactions and if the students are enjoying themselves., they can sit back and enjoy the show like everyone else.
“My favorite part is to see how the students react,” Ellerbrock said. “It lets me know if we put on a good show.”
This year’s winners were Jeremiah Gause and Sarah Barajas. They sang a duet of Gravity by Sara Bareilles.
“The reason why I participated was because Sarah inspired me to sing with her and I’ve always wanted to do a duet with her,” Gause said.
Bowie Idol started as an idea between Ellerbrock and current choir teacher Sheryl Jones. They started planning and made it happening and every year since there has been a Bowie Idol show some time during the beginning of spring.
“I’ve been doing it since the day the school opened. The first year the school opened, the choir teacher came to me. It was her idea, and ever since, it’s been a production by the student council and the choir,” Ellerbrock said.
The show was split up into two acts. Of the 40 students that participated, 23 made spots in the show.
Students enjoyed the opportunity to show off their skills and showmanship, as well as their creativity with choreography and stage presence.
“The most fun part of winning was sharing the joy with such an amazing friend and being able to share the moment together on stage,” Gause said.
Students spent the few weeks before the competition practicing and planning out their act.
By the time the event came, they had to have their songs and choreography memorized so that everything happened just as they wanted it.
“Jeremiah and I practiced before the audition and would run the song a couple of times per day before the actual competition to get the timing right,” Barajas said.
Barajas and Gause decided to do Bowie Idol for this year, at the last minute, because their friends wanted to see it. They ended up putting on the best show, at least in the audience’s eyes.
When the acts had all gotten this chance to perform, the audience got out their phones and began the voting process.
“My friends have told me to do Bowie Idol every year, and I figured it’s senior year why not,” Barajas said, “It was really awesome to be able to perform for an audience because I have never gotten to do that before.”
