On Friday evening, Oct. 19, ChinaScope, a cultural organization that bridges the Binghamton community with the diverse Chinese student population, held its biggest annual event of the semester, “The Voice of BU,” in the University Union. Students performed in the singing competition where 13 performers competed for the first place prize — a chance to perform at Dragon Night, ChinaScope’s annual banquet that will be held in the spring semester.

The judging panel was composed of five students who judged the contestants based on tone, smoothness, articulation, enthusiasm and confidence.

“The event was pretty good,” said Cindy Zhou, a judge and a junior majoring in accounting. “Everyone showed their talent and created a relaxing atmosphere.”

The singers showcased their talents and performed songs in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. A few songs that were performed were “When I’m Gone” by Eminem, “I Miss You” by Joyce Chu and “Three Pass” by Lil-Em and ICE.

“I performed two years ago and I really enjoyed it,” said Tao Yang, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. “Even though I messed up a lot, it was fun. Especially since it was my first time rapping in front of people.”

Another contestant, Yuangao Peng, a first-year graduate student, described what it felt like to be performing guitar in front of a crowd.

“I haven’t played guitar for like a year, I have been learning this song for the past two days,” Peng said. “This was my first time singing in an audience, and I was very nervous.”

Members of the audience were also engaging with the performers, waving their flashlights on their phones during slow songs and cheering to the beat during fast-paced songs. This year, the energy from the performers seemed to be more energetic than in years past, as Yves Lu, an undeclared sophomore, stated.

“The performers demonstrated their strong personality, which has never happened before, because in the past, performers were shy,” Lu said.

The night was completed with a final performance by Lisa Tan, an undeclared sophomore, who invited the crowd to sing along with her.

“I had a lot of fun,” Tan said. “I encourage people to try it out more.”

David Wong, ChinaScope’s outreach and a senior majoring in accounting, talked about how the mix of languages that were performed demonstrated the diversity of ChinaScope’s voice.

“I thought it was great to see the different kinds of songs they sang — there was Cantonese, Mandarin and English,” Song said. “I thought it was a great mix of Asian American and Chinese culture.”