OBHS Talent Quest
By Mikko Johnston | Posted: Thursday May 16, 2024
Introducing your 2024 Otago Boys’ Talent Quest Winner… Mj Maua!
The finals round of the school’s talent quest were held on 14 of May in a senior assembly. Along with all the senior students, we had many members of staff, parents of contestants, and Talent Quest sponsors in the room. We also saw around 80 people watching on the livestream. The contestants really stepped it up for the finals, with an amazing showcase of talent.
Judges Matthew Dadley, Cheol Shin, and Fergus Oberlin-Brown had a tough decision to make, deliberating between 5 contestants who performed to their absolute best. In the end the judges came to the following decision:
1st | Mj Maua
2nd | Hold Up (Mikko Johnston, Oliver MacKenzie, Max Cutfield, Rupene Skipper, Dallas Pankhurst, Finn Marshall)
3rd | Arya Davison
Finalists | Mikko Johnston & Ben Nguyen
Mj Maua took out top spot singing ‘If I ain't got you’ by Alicia Keys, getting his name engraved on the Karl Van Betuw trophy. Winning the Talent Quest also earnt him $150 cash prize, a SugarBOOM prize pack, and house points! Band, Hold Up, took second place with their rendition of Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode’. They received a $75 cash prize, a SugarBOOM prize pack, along with house points. Hold Up also received the Highest Placed Group prize, receiving a $50 SugarBOOM prize pack.
The only non-music act, Arya Davison, took out 3rd place performing a poem by Richard Siken called ‘Unfinished Duet from McIndoe!’ Performing this powerful poem, they received a $50 Cash Prize, a SugarBOOM prize pack, and house points.
The two remaining finalists were Mikko Johnston, performing his rendition of ‘I’m Just Ken’ from the hit Barbie movie, and Ben Ngyuen with his beautiful piano ballad. Ben Ngyuen won the Highest Placed Musician, receiving a $50 RockShop Voucher.
It would be an understatement to say that this year's Talent Quest was a success. The amazing talent that was showcased, the highly talented judges, and the amazing support we saw from the boys and staff was immense. This year's aim was to create a show, and we think we definitely delivered on that.
A big thank you to our sponsors SugarBOOM, Magnum Automotive Dunedin, The RockShop Dunedin, and the Otago Boys’ High School Foundation for all their support this year. We are already looking forward to next year, and have some ideas to take the Talent Quest up another level.
If you missed the Talent Quest Finals, go over to the Otago Boys’ High School youtube where we are releasing a filmed version in the coming days! And make sure to follow us on instagram @OtagoBoysTalentQuest.
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