By Karen Trinh
Fountain Valley High School’s FNL club hosted its 9th annual school talent show last Friday, May 24.
The show lasted from 7:30 to 10 PM and took place in the school gym. The hosts were Tricia Vuong (‘13) and Bryan Nguyen (‘13).
The judges were Crystal Jerabek, former FVHS teacher, Deeder Lam, FVHS alumnus and former FNL host, and Aimee Le, Miss Fountain Valley 2013. Proceeds from the show went to the victims of the recent Oklahoma tornado. Performances included magic tricks, original songs, improvisational comedy, poetry, a saxophone group, and more.
“It was a really fun and interesting experience,” said Emerald Nguyen (‘15), who sang a One Direction medley. “I met some new friends from being in the show and it helped me a lot with my fear of performing in front of crowds.”
The show ended with the awarding of honorable mentions, as well as first, second and third place. Maxx Komminsky (‘13) with his electric guitar performance, Brandon Khong’s (‘13) dance, and the saxophone band received honorable mentions.
The first place performance was “Piano Wars”, with Natalie Tongprasearth (‘13), Josh Lim (‘13), and Kevin Takeda (‘16). Their performance was a sketch, centered around a piano medley of well-known songs, such as the Harry Potter theme.
“I didn’t think we would get first place; I just wanted to put on a show for the fun of it… I’m really proud of all of us and it was definitely worth the effort,” said Tongprasearth.
Second place was awarded to Celina Huynh (‘13) and her sister Nathalie Huynh (‘15), with their spoken word poetry. They performed an original poem titled, “When I Was Young”, which had originally been written for Nathalie’s English book report.
“I felt really good that [Celina and I] recited a spoken word poem together, instead of singing a song or reciting a poem solo, because it stood out from what some of the other acts were doing,” said Nathalie.
Khoa Pham (‘13) received third place for his acoustic performance of his original song, “Run Forever”.
“I had a blast performing. To me, it wasn’t about competing against others, but just having a good time singing a song,” said Pham.
Friday Night Live is an organization dedicated to bringing awareness to drunk driving and the use of drugs and abusive substances, especially in adolescents. The club was established at Fountain Valley High School in the ‘90s, and the FNL talent show was created in 2004, with the help of club adviser, Mr. Yarnton.
“The idea of the talent show is to give alternative ‘highs’ to students… a student can be high on singing or high on dancing, providing an outlet to express and feel happy about what they do without drug usage,” said club president Tiffany Tran (‘13).
Although the turnout for this year’s show was not as large as previous years had been, the show still went well, and performers and viewers alike were content at the end of the night.
“I liked how there was a lot audience interaction… I also liked how they had a more diverse set of acts, from card tricks to improv,” said Langa Tran (‘15) .
