Arifjan Idol gives troops an uplifting experience

Courtesy Photo | Arifjan Idol DJ and side performer of the night Lt. Ralph Cahill, from the Navy Expeditionary Support Group, woos a group of audience members with his singing performance on the Zone 1 Morale, Welfare and Recreation stage Feb. 1. (Photo by Christine Welch)  

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

02.06.2010

Story by Spc. Jason Adolphson 

1st Theater Sustainment Command

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — Hundreds of service members and civilians serving here gathered at the Zone 1, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center Feb. 1 to watch and compete in the camp's version of a popular televised singing contest.

The final round of Arifjan Idol came down to 14 contestants singing their hearts out in hopes of not only winning an 8 gigabyte MP3 player, but taking home bragging rights of being the camp's fourth Arifjan Idol.

The first half of the competition leading up to the final winner featured a 10-year-old guest singer from Kuwait City. The crowd was swept away by Bradley Hao's rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing."

"There were four or five of us who just wanted to quit right there," first place winner, Senior Airmen Angel White, from 586th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, said. "He wasn't competing, but that's just what comes to mind when you here a voice like that."

The MWR supervisor said the young boy's performance raised the bar for performers in the second round of the competition.

"Some of the singers came up to me and said they we're changing their next songs after being inspired by his performance," Rhea Sharver said. "The judges even reported they stepped it up by scoring an average of 50 points higher during their second performances."

Competitors transitioned from singing such songs as "Lean on me" and "How far is Heaven" to "Strokin" and "Let's get it on."

Spectator Spc. Alicia Hall, from 310th Human Resources Sustainment Center, said she was surprised the event turned out so "full and lively."

"I didn't know this many people were going to be here," Hall said during the contest. "The crowd just kind of pumps you up, and it pumps the singers up."

The contest boiled down to three winners in the end, but Sharver said the biggest factor of the night was that all contestants were positive and supportive of one another.

"I was surprised to win because there were so many great singers," White said.

Nevertheless, she was happy to claim her prized MP3 player. "I lost mine last week and now I don't have to buy a new one!"

The event marked one of many at Camp Arifjan, thanks to MWR employees dedicated to uplifting troop morale.

"Satisfaction of the customer tells you that you're doing the right thing — what they want to see and have," Sharver said. "The trick is knowing the trends and bringing them here."

• Date Taken: 02.06.2010
• Date Posted: 02.06.2010 08:32
• Story ID: 45011
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW