J-pop band Seoul Drift won this year’s 19th annual Biggest Mouth music competition and will open for Manifest’s headliner in May.
The annual battle of the bands is sponsored by the Student Programming Board and showcases acts from all kinds of music genres. About 150 people packed the Epiphany Center for the Arts on Thursday, April 17 for the music competition in Chicago’s West Side.
Alice Kim, a junior music major and the lead singer of Seoul Drift, said that she was “flabbergasted.”
“I did not think that we were going to win,” said Kim, who burst into tears when the winners were announced. “I did my best, so at least we wouldn’t feel embarrassed of ourselves.” Moving forward, she said she is most excited to perform at Manifest.
The band also won a music video shoot sponsored by Lumber Studios, a three-hour recording studio time at Classick Studios and $1,000.
Second-place winner, Abstract, won the three-hour recording studio time, play time at Manifest and $750. Third-place winner Luscia Jane also won play time at Manifest, an appearance on The Ghetto Flower podcast and $500.
With 12 different acts playing from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., the venue was filled with non-stop cheers and music, ringing wall to wall.
“Each act is so vastly different, which makes for a really unique show experience,” said SPB’s director of productions, Antonia Butka, a junior film and television and acting double major. This year, Biggest Mouth had a range of rappers and hip hop artists to acoustic, rock and pop musicians.
While not every performer is a Columbia student, Butka said each group has at least one member attending the college.
While performing an alternative version of his original song “Antique” with his DJ Dragon, Aidan Talty-Murphy, a first-year music major, got the audience chanting “Nap time, baby,” which reverberated throughout the Epiphany Center. While he’s been making rap and R&B music for seven years, this is the first time Talty-Murphy performed his own music in front of a crowd.
“I wanted to come out here and just continue to make a name for myself,” Talty-Murphy said. “I’m excited that the time is now.”
Other performers like Riley Woods and Elijah Williams, both sophomore music majors and the bassist and guitarist of Abstract, the second place winner, said they were also excited about performing but also a little nervous. Woods said the six-person group wanted to enter the competition to show people their R&B, gospel-inspired music.
“It’s about getting up there and being the truest version of yourself,” Williams said, “Music is about having fun, chilling and having a good time.”
Another group that performed was Hyun, a 13-piece jazz and folk ensemble with strings, brass instruments and choir vocals. The orchestra performed original music arranged and composed by Hyun Kim, a sophomore music composition major and the group’s soloist.
Last year, Hyun Kim said he was in the audience of Biggest Mouth, but this year, he was on stage, front and center. “It’s really different to feel the contrast between being in the crowd and being a performer,” he said. “We’re just having fun even though this is a competition.”
While he sang, the audience swayed side to side and held up phone flashlights, enjoying the calm yet playful tunes.
In addition to all their prizes, each winner will have an interview for a podcast with The Limelight, a multimedia collective started by junior radio major Brianna Gartrell, senior graphic design major Rachel Manlubatan and Columbia alums Adi Raghavan and Kaia Morrison-Burks. Current members also include SPB’s director of communications Stephanie Haro, a radio and journalism double major, and SPB’s president Jasara Goldsborough, a senior arts management major.
Sky Watson, a first-year music major, said they were really excited to see self-proclaimed “forest funk” band Luscia Jane perform, as they have also performed with the band before. “I came to support, like everybody else, really great artists,” Watson said.
While Luscia Jane, the third place winner, took over the stage and got the crowd hyped up with wicked guitar chords and belting lyrics, Watson was laughing with friends, nodding their head to the beat, their eyes fixated on the performers.
Before introducing rock band Liptoss, Host Veronica Pop brought out Mani the Manifest mascot, who came out wafting a fan with audience-approved sass. The large cluster of attendees pooled by the stage reacted with laughter and hands held up high, waving snaps in the air.
Lucy Conway, a junior fashion design major, said it was great that the crowd was so excited for all the performers. “I haven’t been to this before even though it’s my third year,” Conway said, referencing the event. “It’s really cool that Columbia puts on events like this.”
This is the second year Biggest Mouth was held at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. Butka said the change from the Metro, where the event was held previously, was due to accessibility limitations, like not having a ramp or elevator to the spaces being utilized.
Since the show was open to students and the public of all ages, Butka said SPB wanted a more welcoming space for attendees. “It’s not just for Columbia people, it’s for the entire community,” she said.
Given that next year will mark the 20th anniversary of Biggest Mouth, Butka said SPB wants to make that night special and will do so in any way they can.
As the event wrapped up for the night, audience members left with ear-to-ear smiles and chatter amongst one another.
Chidera Anyasor, a sophomore audio arts major, stayed directly in front of the stage for the entire show. He said he was excited to watch so many of his friends perform in Luscia Jane, Abstract and with Diondre Dunigan.
“It’s definitely very inspiring to see them do this,” Anyasor said. “I think it’s very beautiful to see people chasing their dreams and performing, showing us what they can do.”
Copy edited by Manuel Nocera
