Besides Raynor’s criticism, several contestants also grappled with difficulties such as low microphone volume that made it difficult for them to project to the audience.
“I was upset with the sound system,” a headband and sweatshirt-clad Alexandra S. Epstein ’07 said of roommate first-year Kara E. Furman’s performance of Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night.” “I thought it was unfair to her.”
Selected by audience vote, the three finalists were notified last night of their success. Today, an e-mail will be sent out to the Class of 2007 announcing the results.
Brener, Shanahan and Zelcer will perform again this coming Saturday in the Science Center, and the winner—who will also selected by the audience at the conclusion of the event—will have the chance to record three free tracks with Veritas Records.
“I think the best thing one can do is to let the audience know you’re having fun,” Shanahan said of the upcoming show.
Shanahan, who said she plays the French horn in Harvard’s wind ensemble and is also involved with dance, added that she is looking to audition for musicals next spring and to go into the performing arts for a couple of years after graduation.
Barkett said he came up with the idea for a first-year “Idol” last summer, and along with co-host Boyce—with whom he serves as a “Director of Fun” for the Prefect Program—organized the contest with other prefects, “The Committee of Fun.”
Barkett said that when he discussed the idea with Boyce, they “thought it’d be exciting—people would remember it and enjoy participating and being in public.”
The prefects judged about 25 potential first-year contestants during a three-day audition in November, selecting the 10 who competed on Saturday. The 10 first-years were interviewed on camera, and clips were shown to the audience before each finalist performed last Saturday.
Assistant Dean of Freshmen James N. Mancall, who also helped oversee the event’s planning, said that although he had never seen the TV version of American Idol, he thought that bringing it to Harvard was a “great idea.”
“The prefects and I have been working for a while now to create more late night events for the freshmen,” Mancall said. “The prefects worked really hard to put this together. They deserve the credit for this, and I couldn’t be happier with the way it turned out.”