The annual talent show took place on Wednesday March 20, 2024 in the CPAC. The show was held during an Academy open to all students.

It started at the beginning of the academy. Overall, it was a good show with many brave individuals stepping up to showcase their talents. Out of the seven participants, six students sang, and one student performed improv piano.

The performers, despite showing a confident facade, felt a lot of nerves, excitement, and anxiety. Regardless, they still had fun and enjoyed being able to sing in front of a crowd of their peers. Sophomore Reeve Ojeda who sang “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars said, “I enjoyed it alot, but it was definitely nerve wracking.”

The reasons for participating in this year’s talent show varied among the contestants. Many participated for the experience: “I just thought the talent show would be fun to do,” Ojeda said.

The talent show gives students a chance to display passions which they practice outside of their school and don’t get a chance to perform during school hours. Sophomore Darya Inamova said, “I like to sing so this is my chance since I don’t do choir.”

While the performers had the nerve wracking experience of performing, the people in the crowd enjoyed watching their peers. Junior Meeran Gill stated, “I did enjoy the show. It was fun to watch people,”

However compared to last year there wasn’t a lot of diversity in the performances. Gill said, “I think last year there were alot more varying types, like rapping and juggling. There was a lot of singing this year which is also okay.”

The show started off with Inamova singing “Just Tonight” by Pretty Reckless. After a few more performances they switched to fun games with the crowd that involved who could eat a donut quickest as well as a balancing game.

Campo’s school boy band “Beve,” comprised of seniors Arjun Krishan, Josh Larson, Beck Murphy, Cooper Carmichael and Quinn Carimichael, also made an appearance. The group performed a new song they had composed, ending the show and its festivities. Their performance was a fan favorite as Gill said, “Beve was probably my favorite part. They are really good.”

When asked what she would want leadership to improve for next year’s set-up, Inamova stated, “[I felt like] we didn’t have enough rehearsals…on stage was the first time we ran the entire thing so it was kind of chaotic.”

Many of the artists participating did not do much preparation beforehand. Some artists did not practice their pieces beforehand and went into it blind. Sophomore Projot Bhattacharya added, “I already composed a song and it was already public. I honestly didn’t really prepare for the talent show besides performing for my sister once.”

DEIB leadership member Zarah Thomas agreed that next year’s talent show should include prep-rehearsals, however she said that due to “conflicting schedules” the group wasn’t able to create much for their participants.