ADAM BAKER/Arizona Daily Wildcat Katie Larson, a musical theater sophomore and die-hard American Idol fan, attended American Idol-viewing parties in Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall during last year's competitions. Larson's and other UA student's enthusiasm for American Idol helped the UA land Friday's free "Idol Jam" concert.

American Idol is coming to campus, but there's no need to drag out your leather pants and karaoke machines. The popular reality music show isn't on the lookout for the next Britney or Justin this time.

Two performers from last season's American Idol will take the stage for a free concert Friday night at Centennial Hall.

Kimberly Locke, the Nashville native who belted her way to third place in last spring's "Idol" competition and Carmen Rasmussen, who finished sixth on the show will perform at 9 p.m.

The UA won the free concert after participating in a competition in which 50 colleges across the country went head to head, or rather phone to phone, to see who could show the greatest American Idol enthusiasm by calling in the most votes to the show.

Five residence halls on campus - Manzanita-Mohave, Kaibab-Huachuca, Pima, Babcock and La Paz - represented the UA in the contest, said Patrick Call, assistant director of Residence Life.

Residents of those halls gathered every Tuesday night for American Idol viewing parties where they watched the show and voted for their favorite contestants using special text-messaging phones provided by AT&T Wireless, one of American Idol's sponsors.

About two months and thousands of votes later, the UA beat out its 49 competitors to win this Friday's "Idol Jam" concert.

Call said that Zilo Networks, an entertainment company that targets the college market, invited the UA to take part in the promotional contest last spring.

Call said he was excited to take part in such a positive event.

"It's big for us to be associated with American Idol," he said. "I think it's a huge deal to get a talent like that to come to our campus."

Call said the timing for the concert couldn't be better.

"It adds to the excitement of Homecoming weekend," he said.

Katie Larson, a musical theatre sophomore and self-proclaimed American Idol freak said she never missed an episode last season, and she took part in weekly parties in the Manzanita-Mohave lobby.

Larson said she would race home every Tuesday night after her jazz dance class ended at 6:50 p.m. to watch the show with her hall-mates at 7 p.m. If she knew she'd be a little late, she'd insist her roommate tape the opening of the show so she wouldn't miss a note.

"It was something I looked forward to every week," Larson said. "It was just a chance to relax for an hour and watch something I love."

Larson remembers playing American Idol trivia games at commercial breaks, which landed her an American Idol T-shirt and a DVD of season one.

When the show ended and the voting began, the 20 to 30 people who attended each of the parties every Tuesday would pass around the phones to send in their votes using a code number designated for the UA, she said.

Larson said she and her roommate would continue to vote long after the show was over and said she's glad it paid off.

"We'd have the phone for an hour after it was done and we'd just keep texting for the people we wanted," she said.

Larson, who dreams of performing on Broadway one day, said she thinks American Idol is popular because of its musical focus.

"Everyone can relate to music," she said.

At Friday's "Idol Jam," up and coming rock bands Chomsky from Dallas and Magna-Fi from Las Vegas, will perform in addition to the two idols. A comedian will emcee the show.

Admission is free.