In hopes of raising extra funds for their upcoming competition season, the Diamond Bar High School choir department hosted their first ever karaoke competition, Brahma Idol, on Feb. 9.

The event was organized by the Choir Parent Association and choir instructor Richard Langham.

Senior co-president of the choir department Stephanie Shih said the event was partially inspired by last year’s spaghetti dinner but with a twist.

“We did a spaghetti dinner last year, and this year [we] wanted to add something to make people want to attend the event,” Shih said via Instagram.

Shih said the choir board decided on including karaoke to their usual dinner after overhearing members of the choir department’s desire for a karaoke competition.         

The songs sung throughout the event comprised of pieces the choir would be performing for upcoming competitions. Shih said that the audience had the chance to win prizes as well.  Prizes included a two night stay for four people at Mammoth Lakes in Colorado or a dinner and movie night at Buffalo Wild Wings and Regal theaters.  Although the competition was among only choir members this year, Shih said the department hopes to open the opportunity to the entire school in the future.         

“The idea is [that] people who attend the spaghetti [dinner] will be able to vote for the winner of the karaoke competition,” she said.

“The winner will get a plaque with their name on it that will be hung on the school’s wall.”

To calculate the votes, an online voting system was set up for audience members to  scan a qr code that  directed them to a list of contestants.

From there, they were able to vote for their favorite performances to keep in the competition. Freshman Daniel Illingworth, who won first place in the competition,  decided to participate to develop more performing experience, and he received much  support from his family and friends.

“I was nervous and I was trying to calm myself down by practicing [but] I wanted to win it [Brahma idol],” Illingworth said.

The competition held two rounds, with the second round only  between the remaining five participants.  Among these remaining five contestants was senior Jolie Prudencio who placed top three in the event.

“[I] didn’t want to be one of the finalists, it just happened,” she said.

“But I really enjoyed getting to see all of them [choir members], especially the freshmen, break out of their shells and blow all of us away.”