Look out American Idol, Rock Star Georgian Bay has more than 30 musical acts signed up for its premiere at Georgian Bay Secondary School (GBSS) on Friday.

The GBSS Music Council has reinvented the Viking Den coffee house in a battle of the bands format favoured by the student body.

"This competition has been a year in the making," said Music Council Co-President Rachelle Gingras. "This isn't going to be a dreary poetry club, it's going to be a milestone for the GBSS Music Department."

Last year, interest in monthly Viking Den Coffee Houses, which featured performances from students and musicians in the community, was fading.

The Music Council felt the coffee houses provided an important opportunity to showcase young talent and to raise money for the music department and took action to save them. The student body had been demanding  a battle of the bands competition, so they organized one, with one key twist: the audience will be deciding the outcome.

In late January, the Music Council launched a guerilla advertising campaign featuring posters and announcements promoting an event simply called "IT." This generated an unprecedented amount of buzz from the entire student body and when "IT" was revealed to be a battle of the bands, the response was overwhelming with over 30 acts signing up to perform in the first showcase.

Rock Star Georgian Bay will take the stage on the last Friday of each month with the ultimate winner being crowned by popular vote in June and claiming a $200 prize donated by Music Council.

Each month, the act with the fewest votes will be eliminated from the competition so it is crucial for fans to come and support their favourites.

"Competitors should take it seriously but have fun," said grade 12 student Dylan Smith, who will be playing in Friday's showcase. "The audience wants to be entertained not witness to a competition."

Teacher Rich Fletcher who will be competing with his son Josh echoed these sentiments.

"The audience will be looking for creativity and passion," said Fletcher. "They're not voting for the best player but the best performer."

The first performance will take place in the GBSS cafeteria at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 29, and students are looking forward to cheering on their talented friends.

"I'm just stoked to see the hidden talents of my classmates," said Student Council Co-President Alyssa Service.