Eastern students will showcase their musical talent for a chance to win a free recording demo complete with a press kit and a chance to headline their very own show.

The Mainstage Committee of the University Board is hosting its first EIU Talent Search at 7 p.m. Saturday in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

“We have a very, very broad-ranged group of contestants who perform a very, very broad range of music,” said Mainstage Coordinator Stephanie Johnson. “Music is ranging from hip-hop to gospel to rock.”

Three groups and six solo artists will perform one song each during round one of the competition. The contestants will then be narrowed down to five. The five remaining contestants will perform another song during second round.

The first-place winner will receive a free two to four song demo, a press kit from media services and will get to headline their own show in January at the 7th Street Underground, Johnson said.

“(The contest) will be judged by faculty, students and the producer who will produce the demo,” Johnson said.

Second place will receive $100, and third place will receive $50.

Contestants have had two practices, where they got to see what kind of talent they are up against, said Krystal Hawkins, a junior psychology major. Hawkins and two friends formed a group to perform in the contest. The group, “Chicago’s Finest” is a “combo of rap and hip-hop,” Hawkins said.

“I am into hip-hop, so I do it all the time,” Hawkins said. “We just want to expose Chicago and also bring exposure to female artists in hip-hop. We collaborated to put a project together we could all present.”