Last Friday, ten acts competed to be deemed the Most Talented Atom in AHS’s first annual Talent Show.

Talent Show replaced the Mr. Annandale competition, which was essentially a beauty pageant for male seniors.

This decision was made in an attempt to be more inclusive and showcase all talent, regardless of grade and gender.

Hosted by Leadership, the event included a wide variety of acts, which included singing, dancing, and rapping.

Senior Makayla Collins and juniors Nia Collins and Mariam Sesay walked away victorious after winning first place for their rendition of a spoken word piece, titled “Somewhere in America.”

“The message of our piece is that everyday, there are injustices, but every day, people continue to do nothing. That needs to change,” Collins said. “I hope that some people were shocked by our message, and I feel proud because I’m glad that our message was able to get out there.”

Second place went to junior Camily Salvador for her performance of Rihanna’s song, “Love on the Brain.”

These two positions were voted on by the judges which were theater teacher Katherine Brunberg, principal Shawn DeRose, STEM teacher Phil Harris, administrator Brent Roberson, and football coach Michael Scott.

Audience members got a chance to vote for Fan Favorite at the end of the show, an honor which went to freshman Bastian Olivi-Gonzalex for his freestyle rap, which was in Spanish.

The Talent Show was preceded by a preview of the Annandale Theatre Company’s spring musical, the “Sister Act.”

The first act of the show included the “Cupid Shuffle” dance by the Best Buddies Club, a cover of Rihanna’s “Stay” by senior Tina Nguyen, a dance number titled “Michael Meets Dubstep” by juniors Prince Agyeman and Miguel Orozco, “Hula-Hooping” by senior Hakim Idris, and a rendition of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” by sophomore Sydney Long with background dancing by sophomores Limia Bahar and Eldana Mengistu.

The second act began with a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep “by band 4-Sale, which includes seniors Kanoosh Soloki, Gabe Mills, and Declan Faris. Following them was a performance of the “Cup Song” by juniors Alexis Granados and Natalie Nguyen, and a freestyle rap titled “Crank” by seniors Tarik Darwiesh and Kaleab Mengistu.

“I think that the Talent Show turned out to be a huge success,” Leadership president Abby Kitila said. “I am really happy that our planning and hard work produced something great, and I am glad that so many people enjoyed it.”