The winner of Saratoga Idol this year was freshman Mithil Chakraborty, who delivered a brilliant singing performance of the song “Love Runs Out” by One Republic.
“I was very happy and definitely surprised, especially since I’m only a freshman and there were a lot of great acts as well,” Chakraborty said.
On Dec. 5, students and parents gathered in the McAfee Center for the annual singing competition, a prime fundraising event for the junior class.
There were 12 individual and group acts this year, and 80 people attended. The junior class earned $800, with each ticket costing $10. The judges this year were choir teacher Andrew Ford, English teacher Erick Rector and social studies teacher Kim Anzalone.
Chakraborty started practicing nearly two weeks before the performance, but has had a passion for singing from an early age. Singing is just a hobby for Chakraborty, but he has been taking singing lessons weekly for the past five years.
Although he was nervous at first, Chakraborty said his “nerves went away” as soon as he started singing.
“It was a great experience and I’d love to do it again next year,” Chakraborty said.
Seniors Laasya Giri, Ketki Palande and Maya Tirumurti came in second with their rendition of “Ex’s and Oh’s” by Elle King. Seniors Pranav Ahuja, Shivaum Kumar, Akhil Marimuthu, Varun Meduri, Gaurav Mohan, Vishal Narayan, Neil Rao and Tyler Wu got third for singing a mix of “Your Man” by Josh Turner, “Thinkin Bout You” by Frank Ocean, “Feeling Good” by Michael Buble and “Love Me Again” by John Newman.
After the performance, audience members were able to cast their votes by placing a slip into the respective jar of each performer. The slips in each jar were then counted up by the junior class, and the winners were announced on stage by the end of the event.
A lot of work went into setting up Saratoga Idol. Junior class officer Nevin Prasad said the hardest part of creating this event was marketing.
“I felt the turnout was pretty good, and ultimately I think Saratoga Idol this year was a success as we profited a good amount,” Prasad said.
