It was a full house Thursday night as Couture Word held their first Open Mic Night of the school year.

The free event took place in the New Education Building auditorium at 7pm. The Open Mic consisted of poets, singers, spoken word artists and rappers. While some of the performers were veterans to the game, there were some virgins to the mic. Participation consisted mostly of Couture Word members, but outside performers were welcome.

The small auditorium was full before 7pm. People were lined up around the perimeter of the room, people sat on the floor and on tables. Students were anxious to see what talent Couture Word would bring forth this year. 

Couture Word member Carmen Nedab said, “This is my third year in Couture Word, we had a rocky start but we have a lot of new members this year and I believe this is the strongest we’ve been since I’ve been a member.”

The poets of the night explored many popular topics such as self-esteem, love and relationships, sex, testimonies and comedy. One poet bravely shared her experience with cancer as another warned the crowd not to let music take over their lives. Kristen Maddox’s “I am a Queen” poem was definitely a crowd favorite.

Junior JOMC major Janae Brown was among the crowded audience. Brown said, “Tonight was very inspirational. There were a lot of talented performers, all in all it was a great event.”

While the poets evoked thought, the singers brought emotion. Performances included many R&B, neo-soul, and gospel songs by singers such as Chrisette Michele, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Jennifer Sullivan, Vivian Green, Floetry, Kelly Price and Joss Stone. Singers remixed songs.

A male performer changed the words of the song “Dreamgirls” to make the song fit a male’s perspective. Another duo mixed song with spoken word and brought the house down. Some performers performed original pieces accompanied by acoustic guitars and keyboards.

The Open Mic provided students at North Carolina A&T an opportunity to showcase their talents. The performer sign-up list was so long everyone did not get to perform in the two hours of the program. Crowd members would debate among themselves whether or not the singers sound better than the actual artist of the song.

“As a performer I felt so much love in the room, the audience was very respectful. There’s been a few open mic’s this year and this is the first one that had a packed house,” said Nedab.

Junior JOMC major and one of the head coordinators for Couture Word, Jason Cameron, was overwhelmed by the turnout. “It defiantly shows that we need a bigger venue, a bigger stage, better microphones, sound, lights, everything; not only to hold the crowd but to hold the amount of talent that these performers have,” said Cameron. 

• Sylvia Obell