The 10th annual Southeastern Star competition featured 18 students with a variety of talents, including Jeremy Lloyd, a senior majoring in vocal performance, who won over the audience and the judges in his third entry in the Campus Activities Board (CAB) talent competition.
In the past, Southeastern Star featured ten students singing, and three would be selected for semi-final performances and prizes. This year the number of competitors nearly doubled, yet it was Lloyd’s performance of Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up,” featuring a small gospel choir as his back-up, that took first place.
“It’s a dream,” said Lloyd after the show. “I can’t believe this. I’m speechless. I really wanted to win this since I came here, and my senior year, here I am. I finally won Southeastern Star.”
Lloyd received a scholarship check for $500 for winning the competition, and he will have the honor of performing at many upcoming Southeastern events, including Rock ‘n Roar.  
“It was amazing,” said Lloyd of his experience this year. “This year’s competition blew my mind. I mean I have friends now that I will keep in my life forever. I’m honestly shocked that I won. I thank everyone that voted for me that came. I hope they enjoyed it. I’m shaky right now, but I truly enjoyed it, thank God.”
Two other standout contestants this year were Trey Bourgeois and Dana Arthur, who placed second and third respectively. Bourgeois, a freshman music major, performed an instrumental medley including “Amazing Grace” using a guitar and a bass drum.
“I enjoyed it,” said Bourgeois. “I would have been satisfied with third, even satisfied if I did not place at all, because I know all these people have fantastic talents, so I’m really speechless that I got second. It’s awesome.”
Arthur won the crowd over with her performance of Queen’s “Somebody to Love,” during which she sang and played the piano.
“I had a lot of fun,” said Arthur. “It was the first time that I’ve competed, and I just went out there and had a great time just no matter what the outcome, so I’m really happy that I did it.”
In addition to opening the competition to all talents instead of just singing, Southeastern Star also changed the way students voted for their favorite. Instead of each attendee placing a ticket in a jar for their favorite, viewers were able to text CAB their vote.
“I think [voting] was good,” said Jason Lane, a freshman majoring in vocal performance. “The only thing is, they didn’t make it clear that you could vote for one person in each group. I tried that, and it worked, so I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’ Besides that, it was good. I think it was a well-rounded show.”
Students and CAB representatives agreed, noting that the changes to Southeastern Star were positive for student participation both on-stage and in the audience.
“We’re very happy with how the show went, opening it up and bringing in a lot more talent,” said Todd McElroy, coordinator of CAB. “The crowd was wonderful. I’d like to thank the people at Pottle for making this happen, making it all possible to accommodate the amount of people that we brought in. I’m very happy with the turnout and very impressed with the talent that Southeastern has.”