Each Tuesday, 16 SIU RSO’s took over the Hangar 9 stage looking to take home the coveted $1,000 prize, bringing props, choreography and surprises with them. The crowds were lively each night, interacting with the candy and fake cash that was thrown from the stage. 

The Daily Egyptian collaborated with Hangar 9 this semester to host the first ever RSO Karaoke Cup. Registered Student Organizations signed up to compete for a $1,000 donation from Hangar 9 to go toward their club. The competition lasted from Oct. 7 to Nov. 18, every Tuesday at 10 p.m.

The competition was filled with lots of different RSOs, including Alt. News 26:46, Forestry Club, Water Ski Club and PRSSA who all brought vastly different performances. 

The finale took place on Nov. 18, where Joyful Noise and Fierce: Musical Theatre climbed their way through the bracket to the championship. 

In the championship round, the two tied with a score of 47 leading them to a tie-breaker. Both teams randomly shuffled a playlist of songs provided by the Daily Egyptian. Both groups had 15 minutes to practice how they wanted to perform their songs. Ultimately, Joyful Noise, who performed to “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” by Big & Rich defeated Musical Theater 47-45, taking home the winning prize money and trophy. 

Judges were the DE’s own editorial board. Each judge would give a score from 1 to 10 based on stage presence, crowd participation, singing ability/performance, outfits/costumes and a wild card factor. There were five judges each night, making 50 the max score that a performance could receive. 

“Judging was so difficult because all the teams were phenomenal,” DE editor-in-chief Lylee Gibbs said. “The turnout was fantastic and all the teams were wonderful. We are very grateful at the DE to have had the opportunity to work with Hangar 9 on this.”  

Joyful Noise Choir began in 2024 and describes itself as a safe space for singers or musicians looking to highlight Black excellence through music and dancing. 

“We just went out there, we had fun and we showed everybody who we were,” said president, co-founder and head musician, Ameriah Lockett.

Frank Burke has been hosting karaoke for about two years at Hangar 9 and got to see every performance throughout the tournament. 

“It’s been so much fun seeing how creative everyone is with it,” Burke said. 

Brandon Henry, Hangar 9’s general manager, has been the manager since it reopened in August of this year and joined the team in June. Henry has also been able to see all of the performances from each of the RSOs.

“The choreography was amazing. The song choice was really good, and it kind of showed the talent of what we have here homegrown on SIU’s campus,” Henry said.   

Some of the most memorable performances by the RSOs for Henry included the Forestry club throwing hot dogs, the energy that PRSSA would show up with every night with amazing crowd work and outfit changes, and with Pagans, Occultists, and Witches of SIUC and Spanish Club performing with only one person.

“That took some really amazing confidence,” Henry said of the clubs that performed as individuals. “And they did a great job as well.” 

“Our main goal was to find a way to reach out to students, to get them involved in something outside of classes that the community could enjoy,” Henry said. “Obviously the prize money of the donation to the RSOs was probably a big catalyst for that, but we wanted to make it worth their time.”  

Henry looks forward to potentially making this an annual or twice a year event. 

“To me, it feels like we brought together a legendary newspaper and Carbondale nightclub to uncover a new legendary student group. I couldn’t be more pleased,” Hangar 9 co-owner Scott Moller said. 

Staff photographer Emily Brinkman can be reached at [email protected]

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Hangar 9

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