Burket battles for stardom

Pitt senior Micah Burket will be one of the 11 finalists competing for the Campus Superstar… Pitt senior Micah Burket will be one of the 11 finalists competing for the Campus Superstar title Sunday evening at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.

Campus Superstar Finals Sunday 7 p.m. Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland Free for students Call 412-621-8875

Campus Superstar is an “American Idol”-style competition hosted by the Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh. The winners receive scholarship money and bragging rights as the best solo singer among Pitt, Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne and Point Park.

Burket, an Altoona native, is the only Pitt student remaining in the contest.

As the audience will vote for the winner, it’s the job of Pitt students to get out and support Burket’s efforts to become the next Superstar.

Burket hadn’t done any serious singing since she came to college, she said, but a flier caught her eye one day, so she decided to audition.

Soon, she showed off her jazzy voice and was selected to move on the semifinals, drawing on the extensive experience singing jazz throughout her life.

“I’ve been singing all my life with my grandmother,” she said. “She was a professional jazz singer.”

She sang with Altoona High School’s jazz band and acted in some of the school’s musicals, including the role of Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls” during her senior year.

The semifinals of the competition were held in the William Pitt Union last month, and Burket’s performance singing “All That Jazz” from “Chicago” allowed her to advance to the finals, where she will sing the same song.

“I think that it shows off my range, and it has a great ending,” she said.

Burket is a biology major and plans to either go to physician’s assistant school next year or stay at Pitt for research.

She said she is a huge “American Idol” fan and has always wanted to audition for the show.

“[‘Idol’] auditions are always when school starts, so I’ve never been able to. But now that I’m graduating, maybe I will go for it,” she said.

Tickets for the finals are free for students and can be obtained by visiting Hillel’s website, www.hilleljuc.org/campussuperstar, or stopping by the Hillel building located next to the Starbucks on Craig Street.