Round one of the Cougs Got Talent competition, hosted by the Student Entertainment Board’s Spotlight Committee, begins today.

CGT will feature singers, dancers, stand-up comics and other acts, who will all be battling for a $1,000 scholarship. Each act will last 10 minutes, Spotlight Committee Director Justin Petrettom said.

Petrettom said the event was originally named Coug Spotlight, but they changed the title to mimic “America’s Got Talent.”

The audience will vote on the winner, and pizza will be available for free.

“It’ll be entertaining for the audience,” Petretto said.

Sophomore participant Zack Sharp, a finance and accounting double major, will participate in CGT as a singer. He said he decided to try out because a friend who works for SEB encouraged him.

“I didn’t start singing until less than two years ago,” Sharp said, “but it’s something that I’m really into and I’m really passionate about.”

Cougs Got Talent will take place from 6 – 7:30 p.m. tonight in the CUB. Admission is free, and the event is open to all.