Canopy Club held its first-ever Red Bull Turn It Up event on Friday night, bringing a crowd in to experience an interactive DJ competition.
According to the Canopy Club’s website, Red Bull Turn It Up is a DJ competition where the crowd plays a key role in judging. Specific themes are chosen, and teams of two skilled local DJs face off in three consecutive battles. The winners are chosen by the biggest crowd reactions.
Throughout the night there were 20 different themes chosen at random. The DJs know the themes before competing but don’t know which of the 20 will be chosen, which makes for a fast-paced and unpredictable atmosphere.
Eric Perrine, senior in LAS, known by his DJ name Seeking Polaris, said that a ton of preparation went into getting ready for the competition, and he welcomed the challenge.
“The key is just being flexible,” Perrine said. “We kind of try to find our own spin on each theme, and from there, we just need to be present in the moment and have fun.”
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The night started with the host, AMS, offering some opening remarks before diving into the first competition round.
“Welcome to the first Red Bull Turn It Up event in Urbana-Champaign,” AMS said, addressing the crowd. “Look to your left, look to your right; you are looking at the judges of tonight’s competition.”
The crowd screamed with excitement, moving closer to the stage as “Battle Round 1” illuminated the jumbo screens.
Jeremy Moore, freshman at Parkland College, said he wasn’t familiar with any of the performing DJs but just wanted to come out for the experience.
“I didn’t even know we had this out here,” Moore said, referring to the DJ scene. “I genuinely had no idea … I’m just trying to see good music.”
Sanath Nair, junior in LAS, echoed a similar sentiment, saying that he was drawn in by Red Bull’s marketing.
“We went to get dinner and we saw the Redbull people and they gave us flyers,” Nair said. “We all just wanted to get out of the apartment; we’ve been sitting in the apartment for a while so we just wanted a change of scenery.”
With no specific expectations, Nair was looking forward to the energy of the event.
“I’m just hoping for something interesting,” Nair said. “It looks pretty fun, it looks hype so I don’t know. We will see.”
The first teams of the night were Seeking Polaris and Vorborg on the red side, competing against Kyza and Kulkarnikilla on the blue side.
For the first battle round, each team had three minutes to showcase their skills, corresponding with the starting theme, “Hip Shakers.”
The blue team started with Nelly Furtado’s “Say it Right,” which electrified the crowd as the music reverberated through the room, the bass echoing from the floor.
The red team was up next, starting their three minutes with Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” also capturing the crowd’s attention
The other categories of the first battle round were “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Swag Era Anthems.”
As the battle concluded, the audience eagerly lit up their bracelets, signaling their votes. The red team, featuring Seeking Polaris and Vorborg, were declared the winners, solidifying their victory with glowing red lights from the crowd.
The second competition followed, featuring DJ Rollie and DJ Ivo on the blue team against Hunter Herra and 404 on the red team. This round’s themes were “No Hablo Inglés,” “Temperatures Rising” and “Bass Bangers.”
Crowds of people danced and sang along with the music, fully embracing the lively atmosphere and adding to the enjoyable energy in the room.
The competition was much closer this time, with an even split of red and blue lights glowing from the audience. The red team ultimately emerged as the winner, the audience chanting “Red! Red! Red!” in support.
In the final battle, Hunter Herra and 404 faced off against Seeking Polaris and Vorborg in the last showdown of the night.
The themes consisted of “Dance Battle,” “Chicago vs. St. Louis” and “Let’s Rage” followed by an intense five-minute freestyle to close out the competition.
Smoke blasted from the stage as the exhilaration of the audience intensified with each theme. The crowd jumped and moshed to high-energy tracks like “Miss the Rage” and “Love Sosa,” fully immersing themselves in the vibrant atmosphere.
Hunter Herra and 404 emerged as the final winners of the night, captivating the audience as they lit up in blue, chanting in support of the victorious duo.
Following their victory, the pair had the opportunity to play a set of their own, keeping the energy high as the event came to an end.
