At the peak of a night brimming with musical lyrics, soulful words and nontraditional dances, one student was named EIU’s Rising Star.

Tiarra Webb stepped forward to accept her prize of a $150 gift card after her performance involving self-written spoken word.

Her performance consisted of lyrics that she wanted to use to get her message across in her spoken word piece, “Yellin’.”

Webb performed her piece to the crowd of students packed into the 7th Street Underground Wednesday.

Webb, a freshman kinesiology and sports studies major, said she had been writing poetry since she was 12 and liked to change between poetry and rap, which has evolved into spoken word.

Webb, who goes by the stage name “Mello-T,” said she thought she had a chance at winning, despite the majority of contestants being male.

“Rapping and spoken word and all that is a very male-dominant industry,” she said.

During the competition, rap songs moved the contest along, with performances by students like Dingana Fokum and Antonio Beverly.

Fokum performed what he described as rapping with hip-hop and a side of pop music.

During his set, he combined several songs including Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop.”

Fokum said he has been writing, recording and producing his own music since he was a sophomore in high school.

Beverly, a freshman communication studies major, performed his song, “Gotta Get This Money,” for the audience.

Although the contest was heavy with songs, there was a combination of genres present.

David Lewis, a freshman kinesiology and sports studies major, performed a capella songs to a cheering crowd.

There were other performances throughout the competition that did not involve singing, including Darnell Tyms, a junior communication studies major, who stepped onto stage in face paint.

“This is going to be a nontraditional dance,” he told the audience, just before breaking into a fluid, slow-moving dance piece.

Moving across the stage, Tyms went from smooth motions to jagged, sharp twists of his joints.

Anthony Boyd, a senior theatre arts major, also stepped onto the stage to break the line of singers and songwriters.

Boyd performed a comedy routine, which involved describing both a trip to the Wisconsin Dells and a wedding he attended.

During his set he re-enacted a rollercoaster ride to the enjoyment of the audience.

Roaring with laughter, the audience watched as he climbed to the top of the rollercoaster and they laughed out loud as he descended, his eyes bulging out and him screaming the whole way down.

Boyd also made his presence known when he walked on stage by immediately throwing down a notebook.

“Alright, amateur hour is over,” he screamed at the audience.

Brittany Staten, a senior sociology major, acted as the University Board’s competition’s host, replacing American Idol contestant Jackie Tohn.

Staten kept up the banter with the audience, and would also have side conversations with the performers in between their sets.

Staten said she had found out earlier this week that she would be the host.

Even though everyone was competing, some of the contestants did not know that EIU’s Rising Star was a competition.

Tre Brown, a sophomore studio art major, said he thought it was just a way for students to showcase their talents.

“At the end of the day, we’re all rising stars,” Brown said, shrugging.

Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].