Any Chin from the U.S. was allowed to give their names and sign up with the deadline marking the 23rd during the month of February. The Chin Community of Indiana (CCI) organized a new program this year called “Chin America’s Got Talent.”

The event coordinator, Rosie Par, says she was very excited when she was invited to be the organizer soon after her move from Washington, DC. Par always enjoyed and supported entertainment events as an outsider but not as a members so she feels very appreciated.

According to Par, the sole purpose of “Chin America’s Got Talent” is to put the spotlight on Indiana’s talented youth. She believes that CCI doesn’t focus too much on entertainment, so she is glad that they’re starting something new this year.

“Asians don’t support their kids when it comes to singing and dancing,” Par said. “All they want is for them to succeed as doctors, engineers and etc. I believe the participants are capable of making it into a career, and all we have to do is show our support.”

One of the participants from SHS, junior Cung Lian, decided to audition a few weeks after the announcement. Lian thought it’d be interesting to see how it goes, so he tried singing. Unfortunately, he got eliminated from the first round, but he has remained positive, saying he doesn’t feel upset about the loss.

“It doesn’t affect me too much, because one has to drop for another to rise,” Lian said.

He believes the start of this program will offer opportunities for the future and is a great cause.

According to Par, the motive is also to bring unity and get people to be more interested in coming to Chin National Day, which is on Feb.18, since the top three will perform during that event.

A total of 30 people were allowed to perform, but only 29 auditioned. Out of the total, they divided it equally to perform each night on the weekend starting on Jan. 27. Then, the judges cut down the number to 12, and the same routine followed, cutting down to 3. Those three will showcase their skill on Chin National Day.

The talents ranged from singing, dancing to rapping.

There are a total of five judges. Three are singers themselves and have won awards from competitions they used to participate in. According to Par, one of them is like the Simon Cowell who used to be a judge on American Idol as well as X Factor and America’s Got Talent.

The auditions are hosted at the Chin Center on Stop 11 and is recorded live on Facebook, Chin TV and CCN International TV for everyone to watch with over 1.5 thousand viewers during the first three nights.

The fourth and fifth place holders received $100. The first-place winner will be awarded $1,500, second place $1,000 and the last placeholder will receive a winning of $500.

Another candidate from SHS, junior Bawi Thang, however, made the first and second cut and is included in the top three. He also believes it’s a chance for them (Chins) to showcase their abilities, and he feels honored to be able to expose and broadcast his abilities to rap for an audience.

“Without (CCI), I probably wouldn’t be known right now,” Thang said. “But now, people notice me more as the person who can rap, and it allows me to reveal what I can do.”

According to Thang, he’ll try his best to get first place, but he’ll also be satisfied with second or third place.