This post was updated May 21 at 9:00 p.m.

Bruin talent took center stage at the 78th annual Spring Sing.

On Friday, 12 acts composed of dance, music and spoken word elements took the Spring Sing stage at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Third-year global jazz studies student Caden Potter said he chose to attend the annual talent competition and showcase to support emerging student artists and musicians. 

“I really appreciate how it’s a schoolwide community,” Potter said. “It’s the entire university. It’s been a long-standing tradition. It feels like everyone cares a whole lot about coming together and seeing really cool music and just new talent that we have in our school.”

Shortly after opening with a land acknowledgment, this year’s panel of celebrity judges were escorted to their seats by members of the Student Alumni Association. Included on this year’s panel were actor Jeremy Renner, former BROCKHAMPTON member Merlyn Wood, “The Office” actor Oscar Nuñez, Angeria of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 14, past American Idol contestant Catie Turner, music producer Felly and Bollywood choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan. 

Deviant Voices kicked off the competition with an a cappella medley inspired Swedish band ABBA. Clad in denim and an autumnal color palette, the group sang snippets of “Mamma Mia,” “Waterloo” and “Dancing Queen” before ending with “Thank You for the Music.” Sitting at the front corner of the stage, Amed Galo Lopez performed “Mírame.” His final notes rang in tandem with the remaining spotlight illuminating Lopez and his hat.

Donning snake-skin boots and leather pants, Dakota Dry took the stage with her band to perform her upcoming single “Minefield.” The six band members played electric guitars, a violin and a drum and accompanied Dry’s powerful vocals that thumped from the speakers. Dressed in green zip-up hoodies, Samahang Modern’s choreography ebbed between rigid and smooth movements as tracks like “Dance Now” and “Nu York” played. The group members removed their hoodies to reveal black cutout crop tops with mesh detailing to close out the performance.

Sophia Bacino, accompanied by a drummer, bassist and electric guitarist, sang an indie-rock-infused song as she played guitar. The band played standing in a diamond formation while a light drizzle began to trickle down. Outspoken’s new live band cued the performance group in as it entered and danced in a mix of styles, including tap, breakdance and contemporary. The movers and dancers sported bright shades of red, orange, blue and green, with a blend of spoken words entwining the music and dance. 

After a podium was placed at the center of the stage, George and Ira Gershwin Award director and second-year business economics student Sean Seo discussed the importance of elevating student creatives – however, no winner was announced for the award.

Opening act two, Mariachi de Uclatlán stood out amid the deep blue lighting during its rendition of “Orange Blossom Special.” Oliver Strachan then introduced his original song “No Strings” about hookup culture and conditional love with an acoustic guitar in hand. As the white lights beamed down on him, Strachan included vocal riffs and adlibs before concluding the song with soft, breathy vocals. 

Breaking up each performance, sketch comedy troupe Company used live and prerecorded skits about campus-specific topics such as the ongoing Powell Library construction, disembarking from vehicles on Bruin Walk and vacationing at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center. Two of these transitions were replaced with a celebrity judge interview segment led by the directors of celebrity engagement and awards, second-year communications student Nikki Aviv and second-year psychology and religion student Charlotte Bradley. When asked about his latest show “Rennervations,” Renner said he preferred to speak about the current event, which he chose to attend with his daughter.

“Isn’t this awesome?” Renner said. “(I) couldn’t be happier to sit and watch these. It takes a lot of courage to get up on the stage and do this and commend everyone that’s come out here and done this, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.” 

Performing “All My Love (All Night Long),” SWADE’s groovy tune rang out on a magenta-lit stage. A cappella group ScatterTones followed with a slowed-down rendition of Lizzy McAlpine’s “ceilings” in a mix of pink and white outfits. Accentuated by the occasional formation changes, the group’s performance grew in intensity, and the lights briefly flashed white as its performance drew to a close.

Clad in black long sleeve cut-out crop tops and winglike masks, Icarus took the stage as Beyonce’s “BREAK MY SOUL” started up. Mirrors were used as props during the group’s choreography, filled with sharp poses, stunts, turns, aerials and lifts. Including a tambourine, a triangle and a saxophone, Lot 3 concluded the annual competition with “Going Out” amid the amber glow. 

Before the awards were announced, the event’s co-executive directors, fourth-year psychobiology student Alec Tashima and third-year business economics student Laura de Beer took the stage to thank the other members of this year’s Spring Sing Executive Committee. Announced by Angeria and Renner, respectively, Samahang Modern took home both the Bruin Choice Award and Best Overall Performance. De Beer said the performances represent the wide range of talents present within the UCLA community on campus.

“Spring Sing is a beautiful display of artistic expression,” de Beer said. “It is imagination unrestrained, creativity unsuppressed. … As we revel in the craft of our student creatives, let this serve as a testament to the vibrant spirit of our UCLA community where innovation knows no bounds.”