An unexpected rap battle, dirty jokes, magic and a blindfolded Rubik’s cube-solver were all part of this year’s OU’s Got Talent, which took place Monday evening.

Guests came out to the Meadow Brook Theatre to watch some of OU’s most talented students perform for the Student Program Board’s annual event, free for all to attend.

“We’ve had a lot of fun acts this year, from singing to a comedian and even a guy who does an awesome thing with a Rubik’s Cube,” said Arkeem Scott, annual events director of the Student Program Board.

Thirty-five students auditioned for this year’s show, and only 16 made the cut, according to Scott. Each had five minutes to perform.

Special guest Zach Sherwin, actor, rapper and writer for YouTube phemomenon Epic Rap Battles of History, hosted the event and started the night off with humorous rap songs to get the crowd going. 

Then, it was time for the acts to start.

These included some soulful singers, a playful pianist, the Rubik’s cube solver and a special Broadway-themed performance by Nicole Armstrong, last year’s winner.

Following a 15-minute intermission, more talents were shared, including a magician, comedian and hip hop artist.

And the winner is…

After all of the acts, guests were able to vote on their phones for the fan favorite. Due to there being so many performers, two of the contestants won this award. 

These fan favorites were Olivia Griffin, who sang an original song titled “Blues Baby” with her own piano accompaniment, and Marissa Scott, who blew the crowd away with her cover of “Listen” by Beyoncé.

First, second and third place was up to the judges, however.

Third place went to Claire Chernowsky, who amazed both the crowd and judges as she did an Irish dance to “Piper Through the Meadow Straying.”

“You’re perfect and that doesn’t exist, but you exist,” said Brittany Hall, one of the judges, in response to Chernowsky’s performance.

In second place was Raymond Griffon on the piano. He pleased the judges with his skilled performance of an original composition that took listeners on an emotional rollercoaster as it went from slow to sassy and back within seconds. 

First place was presented to Leonard Krause, freshman acting student, with his witty comedy act. He had the crowd shocked and laughing hysterically with his sexual and stereotype-based jokes.

Kraus said he has been acting for seven years and has won awards for his performances at theatre festivals, but that he has never actually performed like this.

“I’ve had my fair share of being on stage so it’s comfortable up there,” Kraus said. “But  for standup, that would have been my third time being on stage.”

Kraus said he enjoyed the experience and may continue doing standup. 

“After that experience, I might try to continue to see where it will take me,” he said. “I didn’t realize how fun it would be and what kind of reaction I would get.”

With so many good performances, the judges had a tough decision to make. 

One thing was certain: for the night, at least, OU definitely had talent.