With singing competitions like "American Idol" and "The Voice" sweeping the nation, it's no surprise Auburn cashed in on the craze with Eagle Eye TV's "Auburn Sings," Auburn University's first televised singing contest.
The show's process begins with singing auditions for any full-time Auburn student who wants to participate and is open to singles, duets and groups.
The top 10 contestants from the auditions are then chosen to perform weekly for a panel of three judges. The contestants compete for a six-week period, and two contestants are eliminated each week until there is a winner.
"The winner who gets the most votes, that's done through Facebook, gets to record their own demo CD with WEGL 91.1 in their recording studio," said Shannon Smith, junior in broadcast journalism and co-producer of "Auburn Sings." "We do actually have a lot of the people here who want to go into music professionally, so it's a really good outlet for them to get criticism from our judges and from their viewers online."
According to Smith, this year's top 10 contestants were all single performers picked out of a couple dozen auditions. Each contestant has his or her own vocal style, and a few also sing while playing an instrument.
Evvie Walker, sophomore in public relations and top 10 contestant, said she did a lot with singing in high school, but didn't know of anything she could do to pursue it once she got to college.
Walker found out about the competition through Facebook and decided she wanted to give it a try.
"I've never done a competition where people are judging me," Walker said. "I've always done performances at schools or plays, but this is people critiquing me, which I really like because I would like to know what I can do better with my singing, even if it's nothing that's really serious."
A new aspect to the show this season is themed weeks instead of letting the contestant choose any song. The themes include contestant's choice, songs from 2013, song from the year you were born and judge's choice.
According to Smith, the show's first episode, which premiered Feb. 20, received views in over 50 countries.
Matt Barnes, senior in radio, television and film and "Auburn Sings" judge, said he didn't expect the show to spread to such a wide range of people.
"I really think it's a beautiful thing just showing people the talent and having everyone around the world appreciate the talent here in our small town," Barnes said.
Barnes said he hopes the group of contestants will listen to the constructive criticism he and the other judges have to offer.
"Everyone can get better, and everyone has something to work on," Barnes said. "Always want to grow as a musician, as a singer and as a performer."
"Auburn Sings" airs on campus every Thursday on channel 6.1, and the episode is also uploaded to its Facebook page.
The results show is the following Sunday. Viewers can stay up-to-date with the competition through "Auburn Sings'" Facebook and Twitter pages.
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