The pupils with the power: student homecoming selection committee members: left to right, Ellie Moonen, Luke Tietz, George Rodriguez and Hassan Abdinur. Not present for photo was committee member Claire Koory. MURPHY NEWS SERVICE PHOTO BY MICHAEL LATOUR.
Student selectors weighed all options in choosing headliner who would score high marks across campus
By MICHAEL LATOUR/Murphy News Service
Earlier this month, the University of Minnesota revealed Big Sean as the headliner for this year’s homecoming concert.
The Student Union and Activities homecoming committee is entrusted with the selection and booking of artists for the concert, tasks not taken lightly. This year’s lineup is the culmination of several months of work. In addition to surveying students, the team monitored music awards, festivals and Spotify and Billboard charts.
With a large and diverse student body, music tastes span virtually every genre, and finding artists that please everyone is all but impossible. “We could bring Beyoncé and people would still be upset,” one committee member joked.
Despite that, the committee seems to have found a lineup that has something for everyone this year.
Big Sean was one of the most requested artists in the student surveys conducted by the committee, and Smallpools and Marc E. Bassy offer genre diversity that satisfies all musical preferences.
“The University should know that we listen to them, and we want to give them the best show we possibly can,” program director Patricia Hall said.
However, budget restrictions eliminate requests for especially popular artists like Kanye and Beyoncé.
“It’d be great to get Kanye, theoretically, but we’re never going to be able to afford it, so out of the Top 10 there’s usually like five we can’t even consider,” explains student advisor David Hill.
After gathering data, committee members compose a list of potential artists they believe could be successful at the U. From there, the list is whittled down based on pricing and availability, considering whether an artist has played in Minneapolis recently. This year, the top three headliner candidates included Big Sean, Chance the Rapper and Ke$ha.
Preceded by several big names, including Kid Cudi, Atmosphere, B.o.B., Passion Pit, and last year’s Iggy Azalea, Big Sean is the sixth artist to headline the homecoming concert since its establishment in 2010.
The past four years, the homecoming concerts have sold out, but it’s not too late to get tickets for this year’s performance at http://homecoming.umn.edu/
Reporter Michael LaTour is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.
Cover photo of Big Sean by Elizabeth Weinberg for Billboard.com