By JESSICA MARTIN
His powerful voice and dominant stage presence won him support from the crowd, and the support of the crowd won him $500, crowning him 2012 CSI X Factor champion.
Tim Fleming, a third-year business administration and marketing student, was one of the eight finalists who performed in the Sanctuary on Jan. 31, vying for votes from the audience during CSI’s first ever X Factor competition.
Fleming looked perfectly relaxed and at ease, but said he didn’t feel that way at first.
“I get nervous before I go on stage in anticipation of going,” he said. “But once I’m on stage I feel comfortable and all nerves are lost.”
Not only did he appear comfortable, but also in control. The room fell silent — except for a few scattered catcalls — and all eyes were focused on him.
In the first round he sang Easy by The Commodores, wanting to “do a song that everyone would be familiar with to get the most votes possible.” When the audience fulfilled his wish and moved him on to the finals, his second choice of song, Money by Barrett Strong, was not a hard decision.
“I knew I could have fun with it on stage. It’s very upbeat and fairly well known,” he said. “I also thought it would be kind of funny to sing a song about wanting money in a competition to win some.”
Fleming said he plans on putting his winnings toward his student debt, and perhaps “buy an extra pair of strings for (his) guitar.”
Performing in front of an audience is nothing new for Fleming.
Not only has he performed in front of hundreds of people at the annual Christmas concert at his church, but he has also showcased another one of his talents in front of thousands of people all over the world: acrobatic basketball.
Fleming has been a member of Slam Dunk Entertainment’s Project Dunk Squad for the past five years, performing at National Basketball Association (NBA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) halftimes.
The team is made up of former elite level gymnasts, tumblers and trampolinists who put on shows to upbeat music, flying and flipping through the air dunking basketballs.
He is used to performing for crowds, he’s multi-talented and he knows how to entertain an audience, so when he walked on stage in front of the room full of people at the college, it wasn’t a surprise he walked away with a slam dunk.
He has now been given the opportunity to represent Conestoga at Campus Idol (the date has not yet been set), competing against other college students.
However, he is also heading to Muscat, Oman in the Middle East for three weeks to do basketball shows, so he hopes they don’t overlap.
