GR’s Big Talent, formerly known as Grand Rapids’ Got Talent, is an annual competition celebrating the talent of West Michigan in the style of the popular televised talent competition “America’s Got Talent.” The GR’s Big Talent finals were held at the Wege Theatre, home of the Grand Rapids Ballet Company, on Saturday, Nov. 14, with a nearly sold-out show, continuing their trend of excellent turnouts.
Prior to the final competition, preliminary auditions were held on Oct. 25. The top 16 from the auditions made it into the final show, and from there, the winners were narrowed down to a top three, with third place winning $250, second place winning $500 and first place winning $1,000. The first place winner is also awarded the opportunity to perform at 105.3 Hot FM’s New Year’s Party.
This talent competition is a small part of Arena District, a local non-profit that promotes establishments such as local restaurants and entertainment. GR’s Big Talent is only one of the big events they put on each year. While GR’s Big Talent is centered in the city of Grand Rapids, they welcome participants from all over West Michigan, including Holland and Grand Haven.
The variety of participants is not limited to where they are from. GR’s Big Talent also welcomes participants of all talents and all ages. Both children and older people auditioned, as well as all ages in between, creating a nice eclectic mix. Unlike many talent competitions that host mainly musical acts, GR’s Big Talent had a varied mix of talents, including — but not limited to — dancers, musicians, singers, a beatboxer, a kid magician and a hula hooper.
“If you think you have a talent and you think you can impress our judges, you are welcome to audition,” said Calvin student Helen Groothuis, who is currently a social media intern for Arena District.
Individuals involved in local media served as the judges, including Gravy from 105.3 Hot FM, Rachel Ruiz from WOODTV 8, Steve Zaagman from WZZM 13 and Scott Riemenschneider, who belongs to several judging associations for marching bands and winter guard. The competition’s emcee was Todd Chance, the entertainment concierge for Grand Rapids Press, who has been part of the entertainment scene of Grand Rapids for the past 10 years.
Judges this year saw the improvement of participants who had returned after previous years. Participants are allowed to come back year after year and keep trying, so in addition to this competition being a good way to get your talent out in the world, it also gives individuals the opportunity to receive critique from professionals. With “America’s Got Talent” holding auditions in Detroit so close to audition time for GR’s Big Talent, GR’s Big Talent partnered with the producers of “America’s Got Talent” this year. The judges of this competition had a few front-of-the-line passes for the Detroit “America’s Got Talent’ auditions, which would give those who received them significantly smaller wait times. These passes were given to some acts that they thought were a step above the rest.
“It’s really nice to not only put on our own show, but to partner with some other media outlets to help give people in Grand Rapids an opportunity to stretch beyond that. It’s a good way to get off the ground,” said Groothuis.
The winners were announced at the end of the final competition on Saturday. The first place prize was awarded to singer Ja’leeyna Dooley, and she was also one of the participants who received a front-of-the-line pass to the Detroit “America’s Got Talent” auditions. Pianist Jason Sytsma won second place, and Alysha Shah, hula hooper, and Tony Smith, dancer, tied for third place.
