On Nov. 20, 2025, dozens of students took to the stage at the Brighton Center for the Performing Arts for “Brighton’s Got Talent,” a talent show hosted by the Junior Class Council raise money for the upcoming prom. The show featured 18 acts that ranged from reading poetry to performing dances, with the class council and Executive Board making appearances to fight for their own trophy. The other acts were competing for first, second and third place—titles that not just came with glory but also a cash prize and a trophy.
Principals Mr. Matt Evans, Mr. Nathan Grabowski, Mrs. Jennifer Napuli and Mrs. Tracie Richards, who served as the show’s judges, ultimately selected senior Peyton Pool as the first-place winner for her singing act, while senior Violet Von Buskirk and junior Mason Gay took home second for a duet and sophomore Vaan Otto took home third for an original song. Senior Class Council ultimately beat out their fellow class councils and Executive Board to take home their own trophy.
While only a few students could ultimately win, though, just making it to the stage for Brighton’s Got Talent was a feat in of itself. The contestants had to undergo an audition process to be selected, requiring them to demonstrate both talent and originality. This meant that the show ultimately displayed a variety of acts, ranging from singing, playing instruments and dancing to a comedic skit and a hula hoop routine. Three of the acts were duets, in which two students partnered up for one performance.
“I performed one of my original songs,” Von Buskirk said. “It’s called ‘Masquerade,’ and I played piano and Mason played guitar and I sang, and it was really super fun.”
Like Von Buskirk, senior Lila Keranen also performed a singing duet at the talent show with her best friend, senior Brayden Balagot, who accompanied her on piano for a rendition of “Someone That I Used to Love” by Natalie Cole. However, there was a twist.
“I really wanted to perform a duet with my best friend, Brayden, and he’s very talented at the piano, so we made a deal that if he is my accompaniment for the talent show, he gets to pick the song for the talent show. But he has to be my accompaniment for my winter recital,” Keranen said.
In any case, many performers enjoyed seeing what their fellow students could accomplish.
“My favorite part of the talent show was seeing all the other acts and seeing so many students perform that I didn’t even know,” Von Buskirk said.
While many enjoyed the fun nature of Brighton’s Got Talent, for some, it was a much more serious endeavor, as it was the next step on their future career path.
“I’m looking for more opportunities for me to be able to perform in front of large audiences so I can get over stage fright and so I can fulfill my dream of performing in public as a singer,” Keranen said. “It was not as daunting as last year [at Brighton’s Got Talent], and I felt more calm just singing in front of people because I practiced a lot and it was with someone that I love.”
