Jocelyn Nerney

For The Maine Campus

On Thursday, Dec. 5, the Iota Nu Kappa fraternity (INK) held its 2nd annual UMaine’s Got Talent show in Minsky Recital Hall to raise money and awareness for its philanthropy, the Testicular Cancer Foundation.

All the proceeds from the show went directly to TCF. During the show, there were many ways people could donate.

A 50/50 raffle was held, where half of the money went to the philanthropy and the other half went to a lucky winner. After each act, brothers of INK came around with buckets where people could donate money to help their favorite act win and raise money for TCF.

Evan McDuff, a fifth-year student and brother of INK, said the show is “a really awesome way to help stop testicular cancer.”

The donations given after each performance was one of the ways the contestants were scored. Forty percent of the score was based on total donation amount; 40 percent was based on the number of likes the contestant got on a status about them on the UMaine’s Got Talent Facebook page. The last 20 percent of the score was based on the judges’ vote.

The judges of the show were Brandon McLaughlin, graduate assistant at the Office of Multicultural Student Life; Dr. Robert Dana, dean of students; Deborah Downs, an employee at Wells Central; and Sarah Joughin, a scholar advisor at the Office of International Programs.

The talent show featured 13 acts that featured talents such as singing, dancing and comedy.

The winners of this year’s UMaine’s Got Talent were 4 Pi’s and a Sig in 1st, Hope Milne in 2nd, and David Terwilliger in 3rd.

Minsky Hall was filled to the capacity, with people standing in the back and sitting on the ground.

People came to the show for various reasons; some to support their friends or to just see the talent.

Fifth-year student Zandra Lafond said, “I came to support INK, to see the talent, and support the philanthropy.”

The first act, the group Not Yet performed a medley of songs with three vocalists and a guitarist.

The group sang “Firework” and “Roar” by Katy Perry, and “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. The group did a nice job with their harmonies and their voices went together really well.

The second act was Marvin Cling, who did stand up comedy. Cling read his jokes off of a paper and joked about various subjects, from looking up things on Google to bathroom humor. Mariah Hughes, the third contestant, sang Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” with powerful, soulful, and strong vocals.

The all women a cappella group UMaine Renaissance performed after Hughes, and sang “Winter Song” by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. The a cappella group also sang The Drifters’ “Some Kind of Wonderful.” The group clapped along during their enthusiastic performance.

Ian Girvan, the fifth act of the night, sang and played guitar to Train’s “Meet Virginia.” The next act, Adriano Paratore, sang and played guitar to an original song called “Fade to Black.” He also performed the song “San Francisco.”

The last act before intermission was Hope Milne, who sang “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles and put her own spin on her rendition.

The first act after intermission was the group The Cards. It consisted of two men playing guitars, and one of them sang for the act. They performed Dispatch’s “Two Coins,” original song “There’s Something in the Water Here,” and Jake Bugg’s “Lightning Bolt.” The group performed with great guitar skills and strong vocals from the singer.

The next act was the a cappella group Mainely Voices, who performed Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” and David Guetta’s “Titanium” featuring Sia. The contrast between the serious and silly poses was entertaining to watch.

Catherine Nichols, the 10th act, did a dance to “The Chain” by Ingrid Michaelson, providing a break from vocal performances. After Nichols, the next act was the group 4 Pi’s and a Sig, who performed an a cappella version of Lorde’s “Royals.”

The second to last act of the night, Grace Avakian, who sang, “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical “Les Miserables.” The song was dedicated to her Danish grandmother, who flew from Denmark to see her granddaughter sing.

The last act of the night, David Terwilliger, performed a guitar solo that was unique and amazing to watch.

Scott Downs, a third-year student and INK brother, said one reason the talent show is held is because “it puts INK’s name out in the community, especially since we are the only multicultural fraternity.”