Once the performances were through and the confetti had settled, the judges reached a decision for the winners of the 2024 Dartmouth’s Finest talent show on Friday, March 15.

Seniors Hadley Fitton and Jesse Walker outshined the competition. Fitton took home the crown while Walker won both second place and the People’s Choice Award. 

“I’m very excited, very grateful,” Walker said after the show. “It was very inspirational and such a magical moment.”

Walker said the contestants became like a family over the course of preparing for the show. 

“The fact that we were able to become so close in such a short amount of time was definitely very memorable for my senior year,” Walker said. 

Walker wowed the audience with a color guard performance that he’d spent the last three weeks practicing. Walker has been involved with color guard since the fifth grade and is now captain of the high school color guard team.

All 13 contestants brought their A-game for a Hollywood-themed evening filled with group musical numbers, dance-offs, magic acts, parodies of classic films and even some car karaoke. The show was sold out and late comers were hard pressed to find a spot to park.

The audience clapped along to senior Andrew Sousa’s lip syncing of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and waved their phone lights to senior Tyler Medeiros’ performance of “Hey there Delilah” by the Plain White T’s.

Fitton delivered a performance, complete with back-up dancers, of “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler. Fitton plans to pursue a career in theater after graduating high school. 

“I was not expecting it,” Fitton said of her taking home the title as Dartmouth’s Finest. “There are so many talented people here and I’ve loved getting to know each and every one of them. I just want to thank everyone for supporting me and helping me get this win.”