On Friday, Oct. 24, Biola’s annual Punk N Pie talent show returned, bringing Biola students, friends and family to Metzger lawn for a night of student performances and free pumpkin pie. Part of Family Weekend 2025, the show included acts from original music compositions, and group dance routines, to synchronized swimming. 

Punk N Pie 2025 performers:

• Biola Line Dance Club
• Taylor Grace
• Daisies
• The Bright Blues
• Estelle Ellis
• His Last Breath
• Merge Left
• Calvin Ryu
• Black Melodies
• Romy
• A Quarter of a Dozen and a Bagel
• Biola’s First Synchronized Swim Team
• Caleb Wenz and the Brassy Sassy Big Small Band

Caleb Wenz and the Brassy Sassy Big Small Band’s rendition of “Feeling Good” and His Last Breath’s screamo punk act were both fan favorites, placing 2nd and 3rd place in the crowd vote. But the star of the evening was the unassuming Calvin Ryu, a junior in Biological Science, who earned a standing ovation with his version of “She’s Gone” by Steelheart. We sat down with Calvin to hear about his journey to winning Punk N Pie and whether he’ll be back to do it again next year.

How did you decide to perform in Punk N Pie this year? Had you thought about doing it before? 

Oh, I’ve thought about it for the last two years, actually. But every time I just got “busy” and I didn’t feel like doing it. Even this year, I barely made it to auditions. Actually, I had to email them because I didn’t sign up in time. I was like, “Oh, would you guys allow for a late audition?” And the craziest part was that I got the green light the day of the audition.

I had taken an all-nighter the night before for assignments, and I was so tired. I remember napping in the library before going to the audition, because, you know, sleep is very important for your voice condition. But I was a little anxious because I’ve been, like, getting sick, and congestion always causes voice issues. But yeah, I was really lucky.

Do you have any other current outlets for your music or your voice? 

Oh no, not at all. I mean, I tried to minor in music and join choir, but it was just an extremely huge commitment. And that’s a little difficult to juggle with my major. So I just decided to choose one or the other my freshman year, and I chose my major.

I mean, at least I have karaoke. I went to karaoke recently and that’s always fun. That’s been my main way to sing in front of people. I go with friends whenever I can get the time.

Did you grow up singing a lot?

Oh yeah, of course. I think everyone grows up singing a lot. Like my whole family loves to sing and so we just sing whenever. I mean, I think I definitely had more of a knack for it or natural ability at first, yeah. But I wasn’t really that good… and then I went through puberty and that didn’t help.

How did you choose that song? 

So that’s honestly my golden ticket song for karaoke. I’ve been trying to sing that song for ages, like, since I was at least a junior in high school. And I wasn’t able to really, really do it until two years ago in freshman year. But I’ve always tried to sing that song. And you know, it didn’t sound the greatest all the time. So yeah, I was practicing for ages, but that was just my go-to song for like, “Oh, this is gonna impress people.” It’s full of those high notes and there’s a lot of songs that are, but that’s the highest one that’s comfortable for me. 

So you were looking for a song that showcases your range? 

I mean, a lot of the singers at Punk N Pie sounded really good, so I knew I had to try and find something that, you know, separates me just a little bit.

Can you describe what was going through your head during the performance?

I was actually a little bit annoyed because I took a nap right before the performance, and then I realized I was a little cold, which was kind of affecting my voice condition. Ever since I was sick, my voice condition hasn’t been at 100%, so I was just rehearsing again like it was karaoke, very procedural. 

And they made me sing it three different times. I had the audition, the rehearsal and another rehearsal. So yeah, it’s a bit much for a song like that – that kinda takes it out of me. But you know, a singer learns how to adapt and just how to deal with things like being sick or cold weather. Because we’re not going to be 100% all of the time. We’re human. We’re flawed. 

How did you feel after it was over?

I was just so glad it was over with, honestly, because it was kind of eating away at me for the whole week. I mean, that sounds kind of bad, like I was treating it like an assignment. But it’s just that I knew I was anxious about it, and I was glad to get that anxiety out after I finished.

There was some pretty tough competition, I wasn’t even expecting to win. I just wanted to sing in front of everybody, to be honest with you. Like, I needed to sing in front of a crowd at least once in my life and this was a pretty good opportunity. I was really grateful just to, you know, sing in front of people.

Would you consider doing Punk N Pie again? 

Since I only have one year left, I would say no. I’m not trying to defend the title or anything and I’m also, like, a one trick pony. That’s my most impressive song. And I feel like after they heard me already, they would know what to expect. So it’s kind of lost that shock factor a little bit.

You know, I honestly don’t see any reason to do it again. But I would be down to go see it. I didn’t get any of those mini pumpkin pies, I really wanted one of those.