b>The search for stardom begins, for a good cause

It's everyone's secret dream to be standing on stage with a microphone in hand, dressed to the nines, with an eager audience awaiting a top-notch performance. The spotlight focuses in, a crowd of friends and newfound fans becomes silent, and the first note of the song begins flawlessly.

And then, for most of us, the alarm clock starts beeping, and it's time to quit dreaming. But 18 of Hopkins' most talented vocalists will be getting their own shot at trying on the shoes of Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken on Thursday, March 30 at VisionXchange's Hopkins Idol contest.

The singing competition, hosted and arranged by the philanthropic student group VisionXchange, has a purpose greater than just being a talent showcase. Like all of the V/X events, it's raising money for a special charity too. One of the cofounders of V/X, sophomore Salmah Rizvi, had the experience of traveling to Northern Uganda, where very young children are put into danger as forced members of the Lord's Resistance Army every day.

Upon seeing such a horrific situation firsthand, Rizvi felt compelled to help, in whatever way she could. So, she and the other V/X members decided to use Hopkins Idol as an event that will raise money to donate to the Save the Children Foundation, which is working towards creating Community Centers, which Rizvi said are "safe places [for the North Ugandan children] to go, to save the children from the dangers they face."

To raise further awareness about the situation in North Uganda, the vocalists will read a fact about the situation to the audience before each song. While discussing the event with the Idol contestants, Rizvi said, "we're asking everyone to put their heart and soul into this cause."

All of the contestants are enthusiastic about using their talents to help this cause. "The charity aspect is a really good idea," said freshman contestant Natalie Menser, who is planning to sing a version of the song "Angel" by Sarah McGlaughlin, whom she said she adores.

The competition itself takes place this Thursday, March 30, which gives both the contestants and the planning committee limited time to work out the final details, in the aftermath of spring break.

One contestant, freshman Melissa Cross, who has both been practicing for her big performance and a preparing for chemistry exam in the days leading up to the contest, feels a little overwhelmed by balancing the song preparations and schoolwork. "It's really bad that the competition is right after spring break," she said, noting that an extra week or two could provide time for her to fine-tune her performance.

If the amount of prep time for the Idol competition is daunting to some, the event itself is also guaranteed to be an intense process.

The first round, called "All Together Now," has the singers partnering up and performing a duet. After narrowing the pool down from 18 to nine contestants, those who make it past the first round will partake in the "Compassion and Connection" round.

During this round the singers will have an opportunity to show off their true vocal talents and abilities to reach the audience emotionally. Only five contestants will make it on to the final round, "Rockin' it Out," which is their chance to perform upbeat tunes with high energy.

While providing some words of encouragement to hesitant contestants, V/X member junior Nabiha Syed said that during this round, "You just need to bring it. Make the audience go, `Oh my goodness.'"

The first place winner will receive a grand prize package compliments of the John Robert Powers Modeling and Talent Agency and an audition in the upcoming IPOP conference in NYC, where talent scouts will be looking for the next big thing.

With such opportunities at stake, the contestants are feeling a bit jittery about the Idol contest. "It's hard to put yourself out there, especially in front of your peers instead of complete strangers," said freshman competitor Gifti Paulos.

Overall, the members of V/X hope to use Hopkins Idol to help build a sense of altruism among the student body.

"We want to create something that marries a fun, social event for Hopkins and something with a good cause," said Syed. "Our dream with these events is for it to be fun and to be a good cause, because Hopkins is a very global campus and students tend to have that spirit of goodwill and care about others.

"We just want to provide the opportunity for students to have such a venue."

The contest starts at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, in Bloomberg auditorium.