(left to right) In the Live Oak Ballroom, Gaya Delgado, junior theater major; Joshua Lopez, freshman marketing major; and Michael Quinones, senior philosophy major, compete in CAB’s Michael Jackson look-alike contest during Michael Jackson Night on Thursday. Quinones won the contest after participants also competed in a moonwalk challenge.
Maria Fernanda Valente Pereira
Michael Jackson’s pop music filled the Key West Ballroom Thursday night as students tested their knowledge, danced along to his songs and celebrated the artist who has remained part of their lives across generations.
The Campus Activities Board hosted Michael Jackson Night at the Student Union’s Key West Ballroom. The event featured a performance, trivia, a look-alike contest, karaoke, dance games and a showing of the 2026 biographical film “Michael.”
Lautaro Heredia, junior entertainment management major and CAB concerts director, said the success of “Michael,” released earlier this year, helped inspire the event.
Heredia said he initially did not plan to add another event to his schedule, but other CAB directors encouraged him to create a night centered around Jackson.
“We do try to keep up with trends when it comes to event ideas,” Heredia said. “The ‘Michael’ movie was such a hit. It really brought Michael Jackson to kids nowadays.”
The night began with a performance from Ballroom Knights before students competed in a 23-question Michael Jackson trivia game. The questions became progressively harder, eventually ending in a three-way tiebreaker.
Freshman mechanical engineering major Brianna Brown won the competition and took home a “Thriller” vinyl.
Brown said her roommate sent her the event announcement because her friends already knew how much she loved Jackson.
“She’s like, ‘Bree, there’s a Michael Jackson night. Are you going to go?’” Brown said. “And I’m like, ‘Heck yeah, I’m going to go.’”
For Brown, Jackson’s influence extends beyond just his songs.
“He gave so much to the world through his music, through his philanthropy,” Brown said. “I think he’s just forever the king of pop and one of the most influential, if not the most influential, artists of all time.”
Senior computer science major Nicole Baez Espinosa grew up listening to Jackson through her family.
“My dad is a big Michael Jackson fan, so I watched his music videos repeatedly when I was little,” Baez Espinosa said. “So it meant a lot to me.”
She attended the event along with senior health sciences major Elizabeth Fitzgerald, who said Jackson’s music also connected parts of her own family history.
Fitzgerald said both her father and her mother’s sister attended the same Michael Jackson concert in Jacksonville years before her parents met, something they only discovered later.
“It’s crazy that Michael Jackson kind of brought my parents together,” Fitzgerald said.
After trivia, three students participated in a Michael Jackson look-alike contest that included a moonwalk competition.
Senior philosophy major Michael Quinones, who won the lookalike competition, entered after friends encouraged him because they often tell him he resembles Jackson.
Quinones said his connection to Jackson began long before the contest. He grew up listening to his music and said “Invincible,” his favorite Jackson album, was released on the same date as his birthday.
“The thing about Michael Jackson is that he is a very, very talented artist, and his music just touches people differently,” Quinones said.
Students could also move between activities throughout the night, including karaoke, Just Dance and Michael Jackson: The Experience.
Baez Espinosa said she was especially excited for Michael Jackson: The Experience, a game she had wanted to play for years.
“To the point where she wants us to buy a full-on Wii just to have that game,” Fitzgerald said.
Heredia said offering activities beyond simply showing the film was intentional. CAB events are designed to give students ways to interact instead of only watching from the sidelines, he said.
“Our biggest thing is creating an engaging community for the student body,” Heredia said. “That means not just showing a movie, but giving activities or some sort of way for the community to come together.”
As the semester moves forward, Heredia said he hopes students remember the night more for the time they spent together than for any individual activity.
“Like Michael said, ‘Music is a very strong language, and it brings people together,’” Heredia said. “I really hope it’s just memories, memories with friends.”