With half the amount of contestants left since round one, the competition heated up in the second round of Terrace Idol. It returned this last week on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. Despite the decreased amount of contestants, the quality of stage performances improved greatly from the previous week.

The three judges were the same ones as before; Kevin Douglass, Meg Stecker-Thorsen and Susan Dolacky, all of whom have backgrounds and years of experience in music.

Out of the ten contestants that were thinned down from last week, the number was split in half again, allowing only five people to move onto the next round.

The contestants moving on to the final round from MTHS are Kyle Llarenas, Maddy Caiola, Rackeb Kelemu and Kyle Henderson. One contestant from Edmonds Woodway High School (EWHS), Rodney Ocfemia, also made it to the final round.

Senior Kyle Llarenas sang “White Iverson” by Post Malone and received tons of applause before the song even began. His performance again used the audience and even included Llarenas walking off the stage, right up in front of the crowd. He also added in some falsetto at the end, adding to the presentation. The judges again liked how comfortable he was while on stage.

“[I was] definitely better [than last week], but not my best,” Llarenas said.

Sophomore Rodney Ocfemia sang “Stronger Than” by Gabe Bondoc and gave a smooth performance as always. The judges liked the song choice as well as his “soothing voice.”

Junior Maddy Caiola sang “Masterpiece” by Jessie J. The judges said they appreciated how she told a story through the entire song with her voice as well as facial expressions and body movements.

“I wanted to show my emotions a little more so I walked around stage a little more, I definitely put, not more effort, but more enthusiasm into it,” Caiola said.

Freshman Rackeb Kelemu sang “Turning Tables” by Adele and the judges admired her use of both her lower and upper register. They also commented on how a stronger stage presence could enhance her performance.

Senior Kyle Henderson decided to do a rendition of “I Can’t Stand Still” from the famous musical “Footloose” and had a sweet opening involving his walkout from the side of the stage. His energy on stage was liked by the judges, and Douglass even branded him “Mr. Musical Theatre.”

“I think my stage performance was a lot higher, I think I did better connecting with the audience. However, last week I felt like I sang better,” Henderson said.

The five other contestants all sang well but at the end of the night, it wasn’t enough to pass them through to the next round.

The first contestant that went up for the night was freshman Praditha Halstad, who sang “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit. Her performance was strong and the judges were pleased by the increased use of her facial expressions.

Also from EWHS, junior Roseanne Gamboa sang “Break Free” by Ariana Grande and was able to put together another full performance. The judges were pleased with how she used her face to look happy and enhance the performance.

Alyssa Tran from Lynnwood High School (LHS) sang “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane. She sang while accompanying herself on the piano and the judges liked her rendition. Their only criticisms were over her breath and possibly singing “too hard,” but besides that, the skill employed by playing piano, singing and welcoming the crowd with her facial expressions was impressive.

From MTHS, junior Lilliana Reid sang “All I Ask” by Adele and showcased her strong voice. The judges called for breath and also for her to not push too hard, but besides that her voice was very good.

Senior Ben Youn from LHS was the last contestant and decided to sing “Die a Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett. He was accompanied by LHS graduate Dan Goltapeh, also well known as “Bonfire Dan,” on acoustic guitar and gave a solid, emotional performance.

Overall, the singers were more relaxed and confident, which was in line with what the judges were commenting on for improvement during round one.

The third and final round of Terrace Idol is this Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5.