By Sarah Jakel

The lifehouse skit took first place and The Guns N’ Roses Tribute of EHS took second place at the annual talent show on March 24, a tradition now in its fifth year. Many talents were brought to the stage. There were five groups involved in this years talent show featuring talent from all different grades.The first talent that took the stage is Jazmine Mendez (18). She performed the song “You’re Worth It” by Cimorelli.  One group included sisters Jessica Chapman (18) and Joslyn Chapman (16). They sang a medley of “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons and “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark” by Fall Out Boy. After the Chapman sisters came the band East of Eaton. The group did a cover of “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals. But the band that stole the show, including members Adam Schott (15), Emma Weaver (17), Ira Smith-Lopez (15), and Christopher White, rocked the stage with The Guns N’ Roses Tribute Of EHS. This group of students brought the house down with a shortened version of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City.” The final students to take the stage were Caleb Leonard (15), Michael Garcia (16), Jayde Contreras (17), Leah Garcia (16), Abi Shaw (15), Danae Duran (15) and David Garcia (18) who performed a live house skit. The students performed in silence to try to bring the realization of what bullying and all types of peer pressure can do to a teenager. Peer pressure in the skit included drinking, dressing less modestly, and taking a life.

The members of the Guns N’ Roses Tribute of EHS said they practiced for at least ten hours for their performance. Smith-Lopez said, “We didn’t do it to place. We were there to have fun and jam out” This was not enough for the audience because they asked for an encore so the band continued to rock out. Smith-Lopez said, “I liked the audience asking for an encore. It was a short show so it added more to it.”

Second place winners were a group of students who are involved in FCLA. They did a silent skit about the effects of peer pressure. Hannah Olson (17) said, “The way they performed it was very professional and it spoke very loud to me because I’ve been going through some rough times myself right now and the skit has touched me.” The group practiced everyday during third-quarter enrichment and had a few after school practices to be ready for the talent show. Jayde Contreras said, “I think the performance went great. God definitely showed up…. I was crying before we even went on stage! I’d definitely say it was our best performance.”  The performance got to the audience emotionally. Contreras  said, “Every audience member I talked to said that it was incredible. Apparently I wasn’t the only one in tears. It had the effect we intended, and I think we touched lives that night.” Olson said, “I felt like I related to that girl who was struggling to get to the other side and that skit opened my eyes and helped me get my life together.”