Students are gearing up for upcoming auditions for the annual Marcus Idol competition. Auditions will be held Oct. 7 and the performance in the auditorium is scheduled to be held Oct. 22.

Taking inspiration from American Idol, Marcus Idol is a singing competition open to any student in Marcus or Marcus 9. 

“It’s a great opportunity to give students, whether they’re in choir or not, an opportunity to perform,” Choir Director-Wesley Davis said.

For senior Skylar Cahoone performing at Marcus Idol has been a goal for a while.

“I’ve wanted to be in it since my freshman year, Cahoone said. “I didn’t get the opportunity to audition for two years, my freshman year and my sophomore year. I auditioned last year but didn’t make it, so I’m just trying again.”

Only 12-15 students make it past auditions each year so competition is fierce, and making those final decisions is difficult.

“I want to give as many people opportunities as I can but there are limitations,” Davis said.

For those who are considering auditioning, “selling the song” might be your golden ticket to the performance round. 

“You’re singing to an audience and the audience wants to be entertained; they want to see someone put emotion in a song,” Davis said. 

Marcus Idol is not only used as a performance opportunity though. It is also used as a fundraising opportunity for the choir department at Marcus. 

“We charge a small admission for the show, it’s $5 and then people can vote for their favorite by donating money into the box of the person they want to win,” Davis said.

Donations only make up ⅓ of the votes though. Two judges are brought in to contribute to the other parts of the decision.

“[They] have no relation to anyone at Marcus, and they come in and they rank the singers,” Davis said.

Marcus Idol’s second portion also includes featured performances from acapella groups Dually Noted and Fusion. 

“It’s also a really good chance for our acapella groups to have an opportunity to perform and get some face time in the school,” Davis said. 

Senior Katelyn Peterson is a member of Dually Noted and also plans on auditioning for Marcus Idol. 

“Usually you’re doing it like the rest of the choir with everyone singing behind you,” Peterson said. “This is the one opportunity that it’s just you.”