Central Connecticut State University held a talent show, CANs Got Talent, on Feb. 21 to showcase students’ musical abilities.
Hosted by the Central Activities Network, auditions for the talent show were held on Feb. 7. The selected competitors then had two weeks to hone their craft for a chance at winning prizes, with first –place having the chance to do the opening performance at the 2025 Spring Concert on April 25.
CANs Got Talent was held in Welte Hall with free admission Attendees were entered into a raffle that took place after the show and concessions were available during the intermission.
The show consisted of nine acts, starting with Erik Jenson, a guitarist and singer. He performed “If Only” by Queens of the Stone Age on bass guitar, then switched to electric guitar to play “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer. Jenson’s performance was engaging and very well received by the audience, eliciting lots of cheers.
Next was Mary Stefano, another guitarist and singer. Her first song was “Once Upon a December” from the animated movie “Anastasia.” She then performed Daniel Caesar’s “Best Part” to an uproarious applause from the audience.
The next performers, rap duo Raj and TJ, were highly anticipated by the audience, with many people cheering as they took the stage. They performed “Understand” by BoyWithUke and “Little Rockstar” by V8.
The last act in the first half of the show was guitarist John Ahlquist. On electric guitar, he played a medley of Metallica songs back-to-back including “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “Ride The Lightning” and “Master of Puppets.”
After intermission, the next performer was Jaedin Latham. He did freestyle rap, rapping about the show, Central and his pink Kirby bag. He was very popular with the audience for his engaging and upbeat singing.
Malachi Sor was next, on acoustic guitar. He played a soft, sweet rendition of “How Deep is Your Love” by the Bee Gees and then “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from “The Lion King.” Many people began waving their phone flashlights to show their support.
The next person was Maurice Joyner, with the stage name of, MJ #1. He performed rap songs that he himself had made including “Summertime” and “Damn.” MJ #1 engaged heavily with the audience, thanking them for coming to see CANs Got Talent, doing a call and response song and shouting out his SoundCloud to encourage people to listen to his music.
Aaron Scott was the penultimate performer of the night. He sang “Shallow” by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga and “I’ve Got Nothing” by Whitney Houston. Scott performed with a rich falsetto that sent the audience into an excited frenzy of whooping and swooning. At the prompting of the show organizers, he did one last song, singing “Before I Let Go” by Maze a cappella with the audience clapping along to the beat.
The final performance of the evening was student band, Third Story Window, comprised of singer Alexa Tamburrino, drummer Elliot Lewis and Ted Murphy, Colby Commune and Jackson Sloan all on guitar. They performed “Just a Girl” by No Doubt.
After the attendee raffle, the CAN e-board announced their decision on the top three winning acts. Third –place went to Latham, Third Story Window came in second –place and the first-place winner was Scott, to the immense excitement of the audience and to his shock, he said.
“I had a Beyoncé at the Grammys moment,” Scott said to the audience. Nevertheless, he extended his congratulations and thanks to all of the other people who performed.
At the end of the show, the CAN e-board announced that the artist selected for the spring concert would be Cash Cobain. The news was officially announced the next day on CAN’s Instagram, with more details to come.
Attendee Alex Dubois said the show was very fun to watch and she liked hearing everyone’s displays of their talents. She said one of her favorite performers was Stefano.
“Her voice was pretty,” Dubois said. “Especially in the second song. It was really beautiful.”
Taylor Doyle, a student at Central, said it was great to see a wide variety of talents and the vibes of the show were high. She said she was impressed with the range of genres people performed in and there should be more opportunities like this in the future.
“It’s always exciting to celebrate the talent we have on campus,” Doyle said.
