Laila Plamondon '08 Named First Smith Superstar
Katie Chase
Issue date: 3/16/06 Section: Arts
Plamondon, the final contestant, really stood out with her popular song choice and incredible stage presence. Not only did she do each singer's individual part (including Lil' Kim's "uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh"), but she also broke into a rap.
After all of the contestants performed their first songs, the audience voted by putting their tickets received at the door into the bottles for their favorite contestants, though Hirsh joked, "How do you text your vote?" mocking the real American Idol and their voting by text message.
The five singers with the most votes moved on: Charlemagne, Williams, Mongrello, Jacoba-Epstein and Plamondon. Charlemagne began with a repeat of Lauryn Hill's "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You," to which Hirsh responded, "That was quite a performance and you're a force to be reckoned with." Williams came next with "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera. She was followed by Mongrello with "Broken Wings" by Martina McBride, a song choice that really showed off her voice as well as her versatility. Jacoba-Epstein was next, and though she forgot the words to "Time Goes By," she made the audience laugh with an "interpretive dance."
Once again the final performer was Plamondon, who made the bold move of singing "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, an incredibly difficult song that she really rocked.
Other highlights throughout the night included performances by the Noteables and the Smithereens, as well as Economics professor Randy Bartlett and English professor Pat Skarda. Bartlett performed the "Smith College Senior Year Blues" that he previously wrote for a senior class fundraiser, and he accompanied himself on his guitar. One of the best lines had to be, "My parents called last night/They said the money stops in May/I better get down to the CDO/but I don't even know the way."
Skarda was quite possibly the most entertaining part of the night, as she led the audience in an interesting dance called "Toody Ta" - a series of motions performed while the audience chanted "Toody Ta, Toody Ta, Toody Ta-Ta." By the end of the song/dance, the sequence was "thumbs up, elbows back, feet apart, knees together, bottom up, tongue out, eyes closed, turn around" - it was truly a spectacle.
The final two competitors, Williams and Plamondon, were determined by audience applause - which was somewhat disappointing, as I would have liked to see Mongrello go to the final two with Plamondon. For her final performance, Williams performed "Real Love" a cappella; though she had planned to sing "Lady Marmalade," she opted not to after Plamondon had performed. Plamondon performed "Underneath Your Clothes," showing once again that she could not only rock upbeat pop songs like "Lady Marmalade," but also slower ballads.
After over two hours, the judges determined from audience cheering that the first Smith Superstar was "Laila!" Though many people had left by that time, it was worth staying.
Featuring some gorgeous singing, hilarious videos, awesome a cappella groups and performances by professors, the first Smith Superstar was definitely a hit, and I'd be willing to miss "CSI" and "ER" again next year.
After all of the contestants performed their first songs, the audience voted by putting their tickets received at the door into the bottles for their favorite contestants, though Hirsh joked, "How do you text your vote?" mocking the real American Idol and their voting by text message.
The five singers with the most votes moved on: Charlemagne, Williams, Mongrello, Jacoba-Epstein and Plamondon. Charlemagne began with a repeat of Lauryn Hill's "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You," to which Hirsh responded, "That was quite a performance and you're a force to be reckoned with." Williams came next with "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera. She was followed by Mongrello with "Broken Wings" by Martina McBride, a song choice that really showed off her voice as well as her versatility. Jacoba-Epstein was next, and though she forgot the words to "Time Goes By," she made the audience laugh with an "interpretive dance."
Once again the final performer was Plamondon, who made the bold move of singing "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, an incredibly difficult song that she really rocked.
Other highlights throughout the night included performances by the Noteables and the Smithereens, as well as Economics professor Randy Bartlett and English professor Pat Skarda. Bartlett performed the "Smith College Senior Year Blues" that he previously wrote for a senior class fundraiser, and he accompanied himself on his guitar. One of the best lines had to be, "My parents called last night/They said the money stops in May/I better get down to the CDO/but I don't even know the way."
Skarda was quite possibly the most entertaining part of the night, as she led the audience in an interesting dance called "Toody Ta" - a series of motions performed while the audience chanted "Toody Ta, Toody Ta, Toody Ta-Ta." By the end of the song/dance, the sequence was "thumbs up, elbows back, feet apart, knees together, bottom up, tongue out, eyes closed, turn around" - it was truly a spectacle.
The final two competitors, Williams and Plamondon, were determined by audience applause - which was somewhat disappointing, as I would have liked to see Mongrello go to the final two with Plamondon. For her final performance, Williams performed "Real Love" a cappella; though she had planned to sing "Lady Marmalade," she opted not to after Plamondon had performed. Plamondon performed "Underneath Your Clothes," showing once again that she could not only rock upbeat pop songs like "Lady Marmalade," but also slower ballads.
After over two hours, the judges determined from audience cheering that the first Smith Superstar was "Laila!" Though many people had left by that time, it was worth staying.
Featuring some gorgeous singing, hilarious videos, awesome a cappella groups and performances by professors, the first Smith Superstar was definitely a hit, and I'd be willing to miss "CSI" and "ER" again next year.