Graham Family Hall presented their annual signature event, “ND’s Got Talent,” Wednesday evening. This year, for the first time, it took place in the Dahnke Ballroom, where 12 competitors performed a variety of events. All proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to the Women’s Care Center in South Bend.
The competition was judged by Notre Dame quarterbacks CJ Carr, Noah Grubbs and Blake Hebert, as well as football team hydration specialist Juan Lawas. The evening began with introductions by Graham Family Hall president and emcee, Olivier Bruno.
The first act was Jacob Baum from Dunne Hall, who performed various illusions and magic tricks, including what he referred to as, “the magician’s dinner.” In this act, he swallowed several fish hooks before placing the fishing line in his mouth and drawing up all the fish hooks tied to the line.
Following Baum was Harmonia, Notre Dame’s all girls acapella group, who have participated in the show for three years and were the first winners of ND’s Got Talent in 2024. Their performance was a rendition of Justin Timberlake’s "Mirrors.”
Graham Family Hall resident Mark Chambers elicited laughs from the crowd as he performed Sia’s “Chandelier” in what he described as a “fake” British accent. Throughout the performance, he removed various articles of clothing, including his scarf, jacket and flannel, which had the audience, including Carr, laughing. Ending his act, members of the audience held up their flashlights as he concluded his song.
Describing the song, Chambers said, “it speaks deeply to internal turmoil. The euphoria of being able to let go. I seek to imitate this nearly hedonistic attitude in my performance on stage.” He also noted that his outfit choice was based on a deal that if someone in Graham Family Hall posted the event on Fizz and it received 1,000 upvotes, he would wear a tank top, which was the beginning of his outfit selection.
Freshman Jonathan Pérez Gómez performed as “Johnny Boy,” with a piano medley. Beginning with the classical tune, “Fur Elise,” he quickly switched to playing “Another Love," "Let It Be,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” all while singing along. He ended by playing and singing “We are Charlie Kirk,” drawing some laughs from the audience.
Before his performance, Pérez Gómez said, “It’s a great event. I think it’s a great opportunity for people to present and give their talents while also giving to charity.”
Later, ten members of Mariachi ND took the stage, playing and dancing to the song “Mariachi Loco,” which had members of the audience clapping from the start. Two dancers kept the audience wowed as the rest of the band played and sang along. Many members of the audience (including Carr) took out their phones to record this act.
“We just try to show who we are. This is our thirtieth year as a club, so the fact that we are able to have the stage for the whole Notre Dame community is something that means a lot to us - to share with everyone else,” John Castro, president of Mariachi ND, said.
Further into the night, “a mix of magic, singing and comedy sets,” came next, as was described by Ean Tom, one half (along with Chris Dailey) of “Ean and Chris’ Magic Moment,” as they were introduced.
“We’re a jack of all trades. We won the Holy Cross talent show last year. Now, we’re going for the Notre Dame one,” Tom said.
Editor’s note: Chris Dailey is an associate sports editor for The Observer.
Starting with comedy by Dailey, Tom then played an original song by him, written for his girlfriend. Mid-performance, however, Tom ran off the stage toward the bathroom (all a part of their act) and Dailey, still on the stage, brought up hydration specialist Juan Lawas for a card trick, saying, “Pick a card, any ‘Juan,’” where the card he chose was ultimately written on Tom’s shirt when he returned.
The penultimate act of the evening was Mardi’s Musical Madness, a music group playing “Closer to Fine” by the Indigo Girls. To close out the evening, the freshmen of Graham Family Hall, calling themselves “The Sendy Sound Group,” sang Taylor Swift’s “Love Story.” Dressed in Graham Family jerseys with blazers, on top, they left the audience in laughter, dancing through the song.
Carr announced the event’s winner. “I just want to thank Graham Family Hall for having us again. This is our third year that we’ve done this. It’s great to come out here every year and see some great talents. It’s really hard every year to pick,” he said before announcing Mariachi ND as this year’s winner.
“It just shows how much pride we have in what we’ve arranged. First time on stage, first time here. This is the greatest thing ever for us,” Castro said.
