Outside the Bren Events Center Feb. 12, students and alumni gathered excitedly for Soulstice, UCI’s largest annual talent show featuring its very own students. This was the show’s fourth year in existence, and as usual, high standards were held. Ten celebrity judges came to score the participants in five categories: a cappella, band, dance, fusion, and solos/duets.
The famous judges included Pitch Perfect’s “Bologna Barb” Karen Gonzales, TV show One Tree Hill’s Antwon Tanner, So You Think You Can Dance finalist Clarice Ordaz, Broadway’s Pamela Kashani, musician and entrepreneur Jermaine Griggs, YouTube dancer and UCI alum Anthony Lee, YouTube singer and UCI alum Tim Ketenjian, UCI Homecoming President Nick Leber, UCI Claire Trevor Theatre Director Don Hill, and dancer and UCI alum Hillary Temple.
The judges of Soulstice 2015. Photo by Bianca Duarte.
Prior to the start of the show, dance team MCIA riled up the crowd with a performance. Loud music blaring with dancing and flashing lights on stage caught the crowd’s attention quickly, as people started filling in the seats. The middle section of the Bren was overflowing with cheering fans by the end of the performance, with special guests and previous Soulstice contestants showing support from the floor seats.
At 7 p.m. sharp, people began screaming and clapping ecstatically once again as the stage fogged up, signaling the start of the show. Soon everyone quieted down, and the announcer recited a speech to the audience, sharing the amount of talent prepared to perform that night. Then, a moment of silence was held in memoriam of the UNC Chapel Hill shooting victims from earlier that week.
The speaker next announced the five categories and ten celebrity judges, and a video from the Soulstice League began playing on the projector screen. The League is known as the “funniest, most talented students” in the school, and the entire show had skits performed between every contestant act. The League’s goal was to “save the arts,” hence their heroic name. Alternating between recorded videos and live skits, the League’s first act was a video which was a clever and catchy High School Musical-style dance number. The audience cracked up and as they prepared themselves for the first performer.
The Soulstice League. Photo by Bianca Duarte.
A young girl by the name of Kieran Moriah took the stage. “Kieran, Kieran, Kieran,” the crowd chanted as she came up on stage. The spotlight shined on her, and she began singing while playing the piano. It was a slow but moving number. It was a melody turned a cappella once she got up and started singing with the audience.
After, a comedic League performance about the various “snapchats of UCI” was played on the screen, lightening the atmosphere after Moriah’s emotional performance. Keeping the audience constantly on their toes, the mood became dramatic with the next performers, Jodaiko. It was a Japanese drumming act and the intense beat kept the audience’s attention strong.
Jodaiko performs. Photo by Bianca Duarte.
Following that, the Vermillion Vocalists performed an a cappella song, and then Mop Squad performed a dance. The audience stayed tuned through it all, constantly switching emotions with the upbeat song and comedic sketches from the League, and the high-energy dance routines.
Next, the crowd really woke up when the metal band Deliverance played. The lead guitarist started jamming hard on stage, with bright flashing lights to match the beat. The speakers blared and everyone in the audience rocked on with them.
Deliverance guitarist. Photo by Bianca Duarte.
Other performances included a duet by Tailored Hearts Connection; a melody by all-male a cappella team Circle of Fifths, and a song by the band 20.20, all followed by a short intermission to end the first half. All of the acts were fun performances, keeping the crowd engaged throughout.
After the intermission, 50 Shades of Shade performed an upbeat dance number. Then, a unique Chinese rapper by the name of Guai Guai came out and performed a rap in English mixed with Chinese. The performance was quite different from the rest and kept the audience absorbed in this latter half of the show.
Guai Guai performs. Photo by Bianca Duarte.
The League acts became increasingly funnier as the event progressed. Some of the most comical skits included a no-smoking campaign parody as well as a satirical performance about UCI transportation. For the “WTF Smoking?!” skit, the League dressed up as cigarettes and began dancing on stage for the no-smoking campaign, reflecting the new policy on campus as of the beginning of the calendar year. Between the skits, Uniting Voices performed a cappella in a large and talented group.
The last set of acts included the all-male band Double Takes, solo performer Adrienne Del Rosario, dance team Peaches and Rings, and finally Timothy John Band. All were outstanding performances, but Rosario proved to touch the audience on a deeper level. She sang a slow-paced, yet highly emotional song which got the audience relentlessly cheering and encouraging her during her performance. In a backstage interview she revealed that she had performed this in honor of her parents’ 25th wedding anniversary over summer, which she will be missing because she is going abroad to join the Peace Corps. During the song, everyone in the auditorium felt her genuine emotion, proving that she deserved the extended applause.
After the last act, the audience had the opportunity to vote for their favorite by entering in a poll from their smartphones while the judges went backstage to select winners in each category. Overall, each performance proved months of preparation and hard work, and there was no doubt it was going to be a tough decision to narrow it down to the few winners. The judges came out after discussing their opinions and the drumroll began. Del Rosario won the solos/duets category as well as people’s choice, Jodaiko won fusion, Uniting Voices won a cappella, 50 Shades of Shade won dance, and Timothy John Band won the band category. Even League had a category for the best skit, and the “WTF Smoking?!” skit won. For the overall Soulstice award, the Double Takes won a $500 check as well as a trophy and plaque. The show ended with a final performance by the League, singing “Time of My Life” with a comedic twist, and the audience gave a standing ovation to the long, yet action-filled show. The hard work and determination of the performers, crew, judges, and even audience showed throughout the entire event, and everyone left reveling in their accomplishment.
The Double Takes take all. Photo by Bianca Duarte.