Simon, Randy and Paula? No. Try Ed, Chris and Chioke. These three will judge the first-ever Stanford Idol, a talent show modeled after the popular television show “American Idol.” More than 50 students came to the first round of auditions this week. But by March, there will only be one Stanford Idol.

Approximately 30 semifinalists will be chosen by Monday and will perform in sets of 10 over the next three weeks. Each week’s performance will be aired on SCBN, and students will be able to vote online to determine their favorite vocalists. The final will be held in March, when the Stanford Idol will be chosen from six finalists and one wildcard contestant.

What makes this different from any other talent show? According to sophomore Elizabeth Heng, ASSU executive cabinet student life co-chair and producer of Stanford Idol, all proceeds from the contest will be donated to charity. Organizers are looking for outside sponsors to donate money in return for free advertising.

The winner of Stanford Idol will receive studio time with student-founded Inphanyte Records and decide which philanthropic organization will get the donated money.

Heng, who is also the Absolute Fun performing arts / comedy chair, said that the talent show is a good way to bring together different groups on campus.

“Various members of the Stanford community have pointed out that the groups on campus don’t hold many collaborated events,” she said. “Since each group already has an abundant amount to do for their own events, there is often not enough time to plan events with other groups.”

The event’s sponsors include the ASSU Undergraduate Senate, FLiCKS and Stanford Dining.

The first round of Stanford Idol consists of four separate auditions. The judges for Stanford Idol are ASSU President Chioke Borgelt-Mose, a junior, senior Chris Babson and co-terminal student Ed Iskandar. After each performance, the judges offer critiques.

Iskandar, who has directed a number of shows while at Stanford, became involved with the show after an invitation from Babson, who is a member of the fraternity Delta Tau Delta, one of the groups sponsoring the contest.

“Chris and I had worked on several shows together in the past,” Iskandar said. “This show proves that there’s a real interest in trying to express yourself in the performing arts, even though the performing arts don’t get enough attention, space or support. Some people think they have to join an a cappella group or there’s no other option.”

Babson agreed.

“We have really good productions here that are cheap or free, but they’re never sold out,” he said. “I know a lot of the people auditioning, but I like how talent is coming out of the woodwork for [Stanford Idol].”

Senior Marisa Juarez, who performed on Wednesday, sang “Tu Solo Tu,” a traditional Mexican ballad covered by Selena. Juarez said that she decided to audition partly because she wasn’t involved in any other performance group.

“I’m a little nervous — it’s intimidating seeing a lot of a cappella people here,” she said. “I think the charity aspect is fabulous, though. I rarely see a creative venue for giving to charity; that makes a difference on whether or not I decide to give.”

Iskandar said he believed the attraction for Stanford Idol was due to its simplicity.

“It’s a good old-fashioned talent show,” he said. “That’s why the TV show does very well — it gets a little ridiculous and a little mean-spirited at times, but the reason it’s so popular is because at its heart it’s a talent show.”

Students interested in Stanford Idol can sign up for first-round auditions at http://absolutestanford.stanford.edu as long as space is available. Tomorrow’s audition will be held at Florence Moore Hall from 4 to 7 p.m., and Sunday’s audition will be at Wilbur Seminar Hall from 5 to 8 p.m.