Photo by Ashley Le
By Colette Nguyen, staff writer
Friday Night Live hosted their eleventh annual talent show to spotlight the talents of many students and to raise money for Mothers Against Drunk Driving at the FVHS Gym last Friday night.
Friday Night Live, or FNL, is an on-campus club that supports the cause against drinking and driving. The club focuses on making healthy choices and encouraging alternatives to drinking.
The club hosts the show every year, attracting many students, parents, and faculty to attend. With an Oscars theme, FNL decorated the gym with a red carpet, a bright red balloon arch, blue and gold curtains and they awarded winners with Oscar-style trophies. The club also set up a photo booth for students to take pictures in during intermission, a new addition to the show this year.
The judges of the talent show were first place winner of last year’s show, Sianna Macy, Miss Fountain Valley Jessica Matthews, and Nickelodeon actor Josh Lukasiewicz.
“Since this is our school’s only Fountain Valley talent show I feel like it’s really important that we have a night dedicated to all of our FV students. Whereas the district talent show is great, it’s focused on the district while this is just our students, our Barons, and we have all of that talent represented.” said Janelle Dinsmore (‘15), President of FNL.
The show featured 17 acts, hosted by Nick Nguyen (‘15) and Matt Iida (‘15) to keep the audience cheering on the contestants. The goal for FNL this year was to keep the performances more diverse which explains the variety of acts: song covers, mashups, dances, stand up comedy, and poetry.
The talent show began with boundless clapping as the audience cheered on the performers as they took the stage.
“Everybody in the crowd was super supportive, which shows how great the FVHS environment really is. The thing I liked best about the show was that everyone was welcoming and it is a great way to relax with friends.” said James Ooi (‘17).
Regardless of who won, everyone in the gym, audience and performers, seemed to enjoy themselves.
“My partner and I started getting really nervous but when we got up there it was pretty rad. When we were singing it was just really fun and an experience unlike any other. It’s just a great experience overall and something that you’ll look back on as a favorite memory.” said performer Jane Nguyen (‘17), who sang a Bruno Mars mashup with her partner, Ally Lenguyen (‘17).
For many students, it was their first time performing in front of a large audience. However, the artists felt proud of what they had accomplished.
“I felt really nervous [while performing], but in the end I pulled through because without my friends, I couldn’t have made it through my act.” said FNL performer Dylan Nguyen (‘17), who played the piano while singing “Hallelujah”.
At the end of the night Thao Tu-Ainh Bui (‘15) emerged as the winner with her cover of “Almost is Never Enough.” Freshmen Tricia Tran and Kelly Truong took Runner-Up for their mashup of “Crave You” and “Rather Be.” Honorable Mention was given to Silvester Gomez (‘15), who whistled the entirety of “Let It Go.” The musical orchestra group, Seven, which included sophomores Mara James, Hoang-vi Vu, Phuong Nguyen, Kuan-Yoo Lee, Cathy Bui, Kelsee Tran, and Calvin Thai, earned the title of Crowd Favorite with their cover of “Masterpiece” by Jessie J.
After FNL’s long process of planning for the talent show, and it was worth seeing the show come all together. Their goal of maximizing publicity was a success as many students, parents, and staff attended to support the club and cause.
