James Kuhn and Kathy Brown sat in the dimly-lit bar, two of the first people to arrive at the Canopy Club, 708 S. Goodwin Ave. They sipped their drinks, and browsed a sheet of paper placed on their table by a staff member. A long list of songs covered the sheet from front to back, ranging from “Sleep Now in the Fire” by Rage Against the Machine to “Islands in the Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

The songs were options for brave souls to pick from before walking up on stage and singing with Live Karaoke Band to compete for the title of U of Idol. It was the first night of open auditions, where performers could sing with the band without the fear of scrutiny from the judges.

U of Idol is sponsored by Q96 and the Buzz, a sister publication of The Daily Illini, and takes place every Wednesday night until the finals on Nov. 15. Wednesday is the final open auditions night, and the qualifier rounds will begin Nov. 1. Twenty people will be selected from these two nights to continue onto the qualifier round, along with a few lucky “wildcards.”

Judging the event are Joe McIntyre from Q96; Tom Vrehn, a local musician; KJ McKinnie, last year’s U of Idol winner; and a representative from the Buzz. There will be other step-in judges, including Mindy Manolakas, and Mike Armintrout, Canopy Club employee and organizer of the event.

Kuhn, a Rantoul resident who works for the City of Urbana, said he planned to sing “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf because, “I know the words and it’s easy to sing.”

Kuhn waited for his daughter to arrive, who was also scheduled to perform that night.

Brown, a Champaign resident who works in computer mapping, said she used to be a closet singer until she saw the Live Karaoke Band perform. Now a karaoke regular, Brown was not at all nervous to get up on stage. She sang “Zombie” by the Cranberries, “because it’s an anti-war song, and I hate war,” she said.

The band conducted their sound check and played a portion of John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Hurt So Good” before stepping down to hang out with the crowd while people continued to file into the bar.

“Our goal for tonight is to find a phenomenal singer who can claim the U of Idol title,” said Tom Grassman, guitarist and “human teleprompter” for Live Karaoke Band.

His advice for the uneasy: shots.

“If you’re scared, liquor. If you’re not sure, liquor. It works every time, I swear,” he said from the stage.

The performances began, and each rendition of every song performed was met with applause from the audience. Throughout the night, people continually moved towards the stage to sign up for a chance to perform. Each singer was given beads before his or her performance.

Graduate students Jill Wood, Jennifer Kramer, and Karen Lichtnan, said they practiced at home on a karaoke set before coming to perform. Wood, the proclaimed “diva” of the group performed first singing Melissa Etheridge’s “Come to my Window.” Wood was followed by Kramer who sang Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and Lichtnan sang “Blister in the Sun” by Violent Femmes.

As Lichtnan sat back down after performing, she said it was more difficult than it seemed,.

“It’s hard to sing and read up there,” she said.

Kuhn’s daughter Jamie, manager at Potbelly’s, 501 E. Green St., showed up to the Canopy Club ready to perform Janis Joplin’s “Piece of my Heart.”

“I think I nailed it,” she said after leaving the stage.

Jamie sings karaoke once a week, and has performed with Live Karaoke Band before at Cowboy Monkey, 6 E. Taylor St.

She encouraged her father to come to the U of Idol competition because she knew it would be fun for the both of them.

Jamie recalled past times of her and her father singing songs that played on the radio while riding in the car.

“I learned everything I know about rock and roll from him,” she said.