Student wins chance to open for T-Pain show

By Kayloni Wyatt
Asst. Around the Campus Editor

Sophomore J.R. Maduako was selected as the winner of the Pembroke Idol contest and opened up for T-Pain Oct.6.
The first round of auditions took place Sept.13. From those auditions 10 were chosen to be the semi finalists. When the second round was done, three were left standing. A rap trio, a solo rapper and a singer took the stage Oct. 1 to prove they were the Pembroke Idol.
Freshman Ayana Washington, who was the only girl left in the top three, performed first. She started out singing Rihanna’s number one hit “Umbrella.” She wooed the crowd with her vocals and her umbrella prop.
For her second performance, she sang another Rihanna hit. The ballad “Unfaithful” was her main choice.
She also performed that song for the first round auditions.
Audience members cheered and clapped when she hit all the high notes.
After Washington, the rap trio Young Bosses hit the stage with “Old School Chevy.”
The group consists of Lex, B.Hill aka Pretty Boy Floyd and Young Salias. They have been together for 10 to 12 years now.
Their performance got audience members out of their seats. At one point in the performance a friend of the group took out money and started flashing it around.
“We practice everyday. Practice makes perfect,” Lex said.
The second time around they performed “Trouble don’t last.” That single is currently available on ITunes.
At first glance Maduaki looks quiet and shy.
All that changed when he started out with “Dear Lord.” With a book bag on his back, he rapped about his struggles and got the audiences attention.
He started out his final performance by asking the crowd a question.
“Who has haters?” he said into the microphone. The audience applauded to answer his question and he started rapping “Hater’s Anthem.”
When the performances were done, the final contestants were called back on stage for the voting.
In the end, Maduaki won the crowd over and was chosen to perform on stage Oct 6.
“I’m excited. This is going to open up a lot of possibilities for me,” Maduaki said after his win.