The Great Hall of the Memorial Union was packed Saturday night as international students from Asia captivated the audience by showcasing singing and dancing talent.

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association organized the show, Asian Idol, and invited students from other organizations to attend and compete, including the Korean Student Association at Iowa State University, Asian Pacific Awareness Coalition, Indian Students’ Association and Association of Malaysian Students at ISU.

Students had the opportunity to audition for Asian Idol in late September, before it was narrowed down to eight finalists.

The event completed its third season, with the premise staying the same every year. Yurui Li, senior in industrial engineering and one of the vice presidents of Chinese Students and Scholars Association, said the organization plans on switching some things up for next year’s Asian Idol to keep it interesting.

The Asian student organizations came up with Asian Idol as a way to appeal to international students and get them involved.

“CSSA needs more volunteers and also wants the international students to feel like they’re home,” Li said. “We want them to know that someone has their back and can support them.”

All eight performers showcased a wide variety of talent, from Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Ariana Grande to Malaysian and Chinese music and traditional Chinese dancing.

The judges looked for students with exceptional talent, and that’s what they found. Stage presence, confidence, professionalism and interaction with the audience were several of the most important criteria for the performers.

The show also included several guest performers, including last year’s winner, Xin Wang, a dancer. Mei Chen Lin, member of the Iowa Chinese Association in Des Moines, charmed the audience with her performance on the guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument.

Once performers were finished, everyone in the room held their breath while they waited to see who would be announced the winner and receive the grand prize of $400.

The cash prizes are attractive reasons for students to compete. First place receives $400, second place receives $200 and third place receives $100.

Faziera Adznan, junior in psychology, came in first place after she captivated the audience with her soulful ballad voice.

“Ballad songs give more power to my voice,” Adznan said. “I’ve been singing since I was 8, and I used to have a vocal teacher.”

Adznan explains she has been in many singing competitions, locally and nationally.

Third-place winner Minseop Kim, junior in pre-business, said his choice of songs had a deeper meaning to him than just being able to sing them well. For one of them, he sang, “This is the Moment” from Jekyll and Hyde, the first song he learned to sing in English.

“It really resonated with me, and I saw ‘This is the Moment,’ and I knew I wanted to sing it for Asian Idol,” Kim said.

The strong sense of community among all of the Asian international students was evident at Saturday night’s event. Pockets of cheering fans and friends exploded when their favorite performer came on stage.