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Anticipation filled the Pioneer High School auditorium Saturday night as about 1,500 community members and 25 contestants waited for the FutureStars 2026 winner announcement. At Pioneer’s 24th annual singing competition, a select group of local students from four Ann Arbor Public Schools high schools took to the stage in groups and solo performances to showcase their musical aptitude, choreography skills and individuality.

The Pioneer High School Theatre Guild has hosted the vocal contest since 2002. This year’s event, directed by music teacher Jayme Kelmigian, featured guest judges from across the Ann Arbor community including University of Michigan football players, Mayor Christopher Taylor and faculty from the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Participants underwent a month of preparation — including four vocal coaching sessions per performer — coached by music director Ken Pesick and vocal coaches Allison Gaines, Athena Johnson and Elle Michaels.

The almost entirely student-run event featured student hosts — both writing their own scripts and emceeing the event — and performances from the underclassmen show choir RisingStars in addition to the contestants’ acts. Pioneer senior Gabby Thompson won the contest with her performance of “Love” by Keyshia Cole, selected based on the decibel level of the applause she received.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Thompson said she has always been surrounded by music.

“Music has been a part of my life forever,” Thompson said. “I started singing when I was three I think. My family is Jamaican, so I grew up with a lot of reggae, a lot of Afrobeats, Caribbean styles. It was a little bit jarring to go from living in a home where this music was the norm to going to public school for the first time and hearing a lot of pop music, rap, stuff like that.”

Pioneer senior Abigail Rohrer performed twice, with both placing in the top five performances of the night. Rohrer told The Daily she enjoyed the chance to express herself through her song choices, especially during her solo performance.

“This show, I find it particularly important because it’s such a good vessel for individual expression, especially when it comes to solo songs,” Rohrer said. “I have a solo this year and it’s a country song. It’s been fun because that kind of music is sort of what I grew up on, and I get to bring that to the stage. I get to bring me, myself – Abby Rohrer – to the stage.”

Five Pioneer students hosted the event, tasked with guiding song introductions and short skits. As his first show, Pioneer senior and host Isaac Laberteaux said he was shocked to find out how much of the production is student-led.

“As someone who came to the show and (did) not know any background, then to come here and realize how much is student-led, it’s incredible,” Laberteaux said. “It’s like a professional level production. You have elite singers, students who are now in school for singing and acting that perform in this show. It’s all hands-on from the students.”

Laberteaux said he feels the Ann Arbor community loves singing competitions and seeing the talent in their own community.

“People love to watch shows like ‘America’s Got Talent’ and shows like ‘American Idol,’ but when you can see it in your own community you can realize the talent here,” Laberteaux said. “I mean, this city is a driven city; people want to work hard; people want to succeed at the highest levels. I think this offers just a great outlet to all high school students.”

LSA freshman Lily Wright, a RisingStars assistant choreographer and former contestant, performed a rendition of “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse alongside vocal coach Gaines. Wright told The Daily the creative outlet offered by the competition is what sets it apart from other PTG shows.

“The students who are performing on stage do a lot of the costuming and staging for themselves,” Wright said. “They have a lot more control over their numbers and their performance. I think there’s a lot of great opportunities for them to be super creative and have fun creating their pop-star persona or whatever it is gonna be for their piece.”

Wright said the U-M underclassmen who worked on the show enjoy the opportunity to perform as well.

“They do a performance at the end (of each half of the show), and it’s just such a fun way for them to obviously get experience in the show, but also for them to show off and get to perform in front of the audience and just have those awesome experiences,” Wright said.

Pioneer senior Mia Coulouris, a first-time FutureStars participant, performed both a solo performance of “Ceilings” by Lizzy McAlpine and a group number of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. Coulouris told The Daily that, despite the show’s competitive nature, contestants are committed to supporting and celebrating one another.

“It is a competition, but competition is used lightly,” Coulouris said. “That is also what is really special about this, because there’s no cut-throat competition-feeling atmosphere. It’s really just, ‘I’m here, and I can perform and have so much fun with these other people, and support them as well.’”

Nicole Campbell-Thompson, co-president of the PTG Booster Club, said the arts play an important role in youth development and urged the Ann Arbor community to continue to support theater programs in schools.

“The one thing I charge the entire community with, is just to continue supporting the arts,” Campbell-Thompson said. “When there are opportunities for (the community) to speak for the arts, I would encourage us to do that, because we all know that when students participate in the arts it really does help their brain development, and it really does help them to become better students, better humans.”

By Mya Weiss
Photos by Josh Sinha