Several entered, but only one could be named winner of the first Tiger Talent Show.
Of the nine contestants, it was Joe Hwang, senior in microbial, cellular and molecular biology, who walked away with a combined $425 in prize money thanks to his piano skills, taking the top spot from the judges as well as winning crowd favorite, which was determined by audience applause.
Contestants were judged on five categories: technique, stage presence, originality, overall performance and entertainment value.
Hwang played a compilation of songs in his performance, from the Super Mario Brothers theme to concerto classics to contemporary pop. The pianist said he didn't expect to win.
"I came out here to just have fun, and having friends come support me was really great," Hwang said. "They yelled loud there at the end, so I'm sure that helped."
The show was held Saturday evening in the Student Center Ballroom and was the culmination of University Program Council's Welcome Week.
"We have had events before, like AU Idol, that were limited to singing, but we wanted to expand a little bit so we could have more of a broad range of contestants," said Michelle Murphy, adviser to Welcome Week.
Steven "Stoney G" Jemison, freshman in math, took second place with his a cappella performance of an original rap.
Due to technical difficulties, Jemison was forced to rap with no instrumental accompaniment, but the crowd responded, cheering him on.
Rounding out the top three was Ben Thomas, who wowed the audience with his solo performance of Scott Alan's "Kiss the Air." Thomas earned his degree in vocal music education.
The winners weren't only given titles, but also cash prizes.
Hwang walked away with $425 by winning crowd favorite ($75) and first place ($350).
All three winners said there was a lot of other talent in the room.
Performances ranged from solo singers and songwriters to an eight-member ska band, Blame Sydney!,
Blame Sydney! captured the crowd's enthusiasm, but was unable to edge its way into the winner's circle.
"It's a little disappointing that we didn't place in the competition, but we were up against some really talented people," said Anthony "Tink" Edwards, band frontman and second degree radio, television and film major.
"This just wasn't our type of competition to win, really," said Luke Sheehan, guitarist and junior in English.
The band said it hopes to do better at the upcoming Battle of the Bands competition in September.
According to the four-member judges' panel, which included last year's "AU Idol" winner Brandon Morgan, picking a winner wasn't an easy task.
The Tiger Talent Show had a turnout of about 200 students.
UPC and Welcome Week coordinators are hoping to continue to host similar shows.
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