Future Stars glow like pros onstage

From The Ann Arbor News
Monday, January 22, 2007
BY TOM GANTERT
News Staff Reporter

It was moments before the spotlight and the eyes of friends, family and one intimidating Rock and Roll Hall of Famer would be upon them and judging them.

Nerves would pop up like uninvited house guests during the Future Stars 2007 final performance Saturday night at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor.

For Betsy Haller, that meant her cheek would start to twitch. For Lucciana Costa, it meant she would inexplicably begin to yawn. For Hope Parow, her throat got so dry, she couldn't swallow, and her hands shook.

Then it happened. The curtain raised, the music started and their performer's instincts took over.

About a dozen of the top talents at Pioneer had sung and danced their way into the finals after two preliminary nights of performing in a competition similar to the popular television show, "American Idol.''

The final show Friday had added cache - one of the judges was Rock And Roll Hall of Fame member Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas - forever identified by their hit pop song, "Dancing In The Street.''

For the students who made it to this level, most have a dream of Broadway or Hollywood. Performing, they say, is like nothing else - but it is accompanied by taut nerves.

Costa, like the others, said she must battle the moment of dread that strikes before the spotlight hits. "I get so nervous,'' said Costa, who sang Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You.'' "Then I see the spotlight and a calm overcomes me. That's the feeling I love about performing. I don't want to be anywhere else.''

Parow said she got so nervous that she couldn't swallow right before she started to sing Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On.''

"But that lasts two seconds. Then I see the audience and the band and the lights. And I'm not really Hope anymore. I'm someone Hope would be watching from the audience. .... It is probably the most important thing in my life.''

Max Rasmussen is only a sophomore performing against upperclassmen. He says he weighs 90 pounds, which if true, must all be in his vocal chords. While Rasmussen sang "Feeling Good,'' the crowd swooned and yelled. Afterward, he stood before the judges, among them Michigan Wolverines football star Michael Hart.

"You are the most popular man on campus, man,'' Hart said. "The crowd loves you. ... I love you!''

Afterwards, Rasmussen was asked about his favorite moment.

"It's all a blur,'' he said.

Just before intermission, Reeves was asked if she wanted to come on stage and perform. It was planned.

Reeves started to sing but her microphone wasn't on as the live band started to play "Dancing In the Street.''

Student Olivia Songer, a member of the sound crew, stood off stage shouting into her headset, "It works! It works! It works!'' Student Jimmy Mero, also the master of ceremonies, was dancing on stage next to Reeves and had his headset on. He danced over to Reeves and turned on the microphone.

Then Reeves began to sing. The crowd roared.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the stagehands, Reeves didn't want her gig to stop and went into an extended version of her classic.

"She's not stopping!'' Songer said into her headset, her voice filled with excitement. "She's still going!''

Reeves danced to the front of the stage and instead of the numerous cities mentioned in the original lyrics, she threw out a crowd favorite - "They're dancing in Ann Arbor!'' she sang as the crowd roared again.

When it ended, the students raced off the stage. They were abuzz. They knew they had done one better than rock legends David Bowie and Mick Jagger, who did a cover together of Reeves' iconic song. The students sang it WITH the legend.

"That,'' said student Jack Falahee as he bounced off the stage, "was amazing!''

In one of the final performances of the night, Rohan Kymal, a Pioneer senior, sang Stevie Wonders' "You Are The Sunshine of My Life.''

Early in his song, he walked toward the judges and sang directly to them. "I was kind of scared,'' Kymal said. "I didn't know how they'd react. I almost didn't do it.''

Instead, he looked at Reeves. "Martha smiled,'' he said. "I hope that wasn't a hallucination.''

It wasn't.

Kymal's performance was what every performer loves. Toward the end of the song, the crowd started clapping in rhythm to his singing.

The judges selected five finalists from the evening, then the crowd was asked to cheer for the performer they liked best. It is hardly scientific, but the performers understand that going in.

When it was done, Kymal was judged to have the loudest crowd support.

Kymal was hoisted up on the shoulders of other performers, just one of many uplifting performances on this night.

Tom Gantert can be reached at tgantert@ annarbornews.com or 734-994-6701.