Posters giving away clues to this year’s featured artist at the Spring Concert were scattered around campus last week. Some students were confused as to what a mansion photoshopped inside a photo of Wisconsin could mean, but others had the song “Can’t Believe It” by T-Pain come to mind. Two-time Grammy Award winner Faheem Rasheed Najm, otherwise known as T-Pain, is coming to Wake Forest on April 17 as the headliner of the 2019 Student Union Spring Concert.

T-Pain is known for hit songs like “Buy U a Drank,” “Best Love Song” and “Bartender,” to name a few. The concert will be at LJVM Coliseum and all Wake Forest students are eligible for a ticket discount. Until Feb. 28, students can get floor seat tickets for only $15. After March 3, students can get floor seat tickets for $20. Students can purchase floor seats the day of for only $39.

Wake Forest’s Student Union historically brings popular performers to headline the annual Spring Concert. Last year, singer Gnash came to Wake Forest, and the year prior, hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd was a hit. T-Pain is an artist who has songs that are very popular from the early-mid 2000s, generating a wide audience of listeners who are familiar with his hits even if they aren’t die-hard fans.

Junior Chloe Rothstein commented that T-Pain is a good choice for the Spring Concert, as many students will know at least one of his songs, making the night fun for everyone.

“T-Pain was my middle school idol and I’m so excited about seeing him in concert,” she said.

Many other students also echoed this idea, stating that they are looking forward to seeing T-Pain because of how well known of a celebrity and performer he is. 

“I’m excited because he is a super talented artist,” said sophomore Cal Morrison. “People don’t realize that he is actually an extraordinary signer because his talent is often overshadowed by the fact that he uses a ton of autotune, so seeing him live will be a really cool experience. He was also super popular when we were kids, and I feel like a lot of people haven’t heard his music in a long time, so it will be really cool.”

Senior Lauren McCoy is in charge of putting on concerts through the Student Union. She said she has worked hard in collaboration with the entire Student Union to get this event together, as it is one of their biggest of the year.

The Student Union has been in communication with a middle agent for about 20 years, who gives them names of the artists able to come within the budget they have. A survey was then sent out to students in October and 52 percent of the responses voted for T-Pain coming to Wake Forest.

Now, McCoy and her committee are working to tie up all the loose ends. A contract with T-Pain was signed a month ago, and since then, they have been pushing tickets, working with the Coliseum, vendors, security and hospitality for T-Pain himself. Additionally, information is being sent out to universities nearby, like Winston-Salem State University and schools in Greensboro if their students are interested in attending. The day of, McCoy plans to be running around making sure the event goes smoothly.

“We really wanted to get someone that as many people as possible were excited about,” said McCoy. We love T-Pain and are excited and hope everyone else is too.”