From headdresses and whips to piano, Weber’s Got Talent showcased a variety of talents from a diverse group of participants. On Friday night, more than 100

students showed up in the ballrooms in the Shepherd Union Building for the competition. Audience members texted a code to the Weber State University Student Association to vote for the winner out of the top three.

The music-driven duo known as Dakaboom hosted the event. Ben McLain and Paul Peglar served as emcees.

In between the 11 WSU student performances, Dakaboom performed a capella songs and beat-boxed. The group also announced the vice president position results from Election Week.

Three judges sat on a panel and decided the winner. Julie Batchelor, a local business owner and WSU graduate of 1994; Nancy Collinwood, executive director of WSU Alumni Relations; and Andrew Gardiner, current student body president of WSU.

Luck Waldrop, president of the WSU Fencing Club and pledge to Pi Theta Xi, was there to support his fellow Wildcats.

“I think Dillon Kim is going to win,” Waldrop said. “Honestly, I have never heard a person with a better voice in my life, in person, than I have heard from him.”

Stuart Call, one of four candidates still running for student body president, was also present at Weber’s Got Talent.

“I think a talent show is a great opportunity for students to come and watch their peers perform,” Call said. “It helps us build school spirit by appreciating the diversity we have here on campus.”

The talent show kicked off with a performance from WSU student Quacee Dorby. Dorby sang a cover of the song “Kiss” by Prince. During the song, some members of the audience were on their feet dancing and clapping.

“I didn’t expect those powerful vocals to come out of you,” said Gardiner after Dorby’s performance. “That was amazing.”

First-time performers Steven Sanchez and Sergio Mendoza performed ninth, and the crowd sang along with them for the final chorus of their own song.

Not all the performers were singers. Carson got an enthusiastic reaction from the audience as she showed them a video of her creating an artistic painting with spray paint. The video was as long as it took Carson to actually create the painting.

“In all, it took me about six minutes to do,” Carson said.

Merick Durtschi used a bull whip for his talent. During one part of his routine, he whipped the end of a rose out of his assistant’s mouth.

After all 11 performances, the judges left the ballroom and took some time to pick the top five. Michael Diamond, programming vice president, announced the top five and let the audience decide the best performance. They had a code for each performer and gave the audience a number to text the codes to. After all the votes were sent, the judges declared the top three performers.

In third place, with a prize of $200, were Sanchez and Mendoza. In second place, with a prize of $300, was the crowd-pleaser Dorby. In first place, with the grand prize of $500, was Carson.

“I am really excited,” Carson said. “I didn’t think I was going to win before, so I was super-excited to hear it.”