A spur-of-the-moment decision by freshman Nick van den Heuvel was seemingly the deciding factor in the UW’s victory in the Seattle hip-hop duo Blue Scholars’ “Fire for the People” competition.

The competition was hosted by Eventful, a leading events Web site. Through the site’s “Demand” service, fans are able to rally votes for performers to put on shows in their city or at their university by creating viral grassroots campaigns.

Van den Heuvel unknowingly took the site’s ideas to heart and sparked a campaign of his own to compete with Washington State University.

“At the time, Washington State was in first place,” he said. “I thought it would be good to get the Washington vote organized.”

After making a Facebook group urging members to vote in the competition and inviting a few friends, van den Heuvel was shocked to see the membership skyrocket. Later, he found out that several friends had sent out mass invites.

“At its peak, the group had about 1,100 members, and we got about that many votes,” he said. “Washington ended up getting first place in the demand.”

The top five schools all win a show; the other four, in order, were Macalester College, Colby College, Occidental College and Washington State University.

Coincidently, the freshman just recently gained interest in hip-hop and the Seattle music scene.

“I used to listen to more mainstream rock, like Red Hot Chili Peppers,” he said. “I started listening to Blue Scholars about a year ago, and went to my first show in December. Once I was introduced to the local scene, I appreciated it more.”

Van den Heuvel hasn’t found out when the show will be, but he guesses sometime in August or September.

“I talked to their managers, and Blue Scholars are starting a 45-city tour that ends in August,” he said. “It should start sometime after that.”

The hip-hop duo will also be making an unrelated appearance on the HUB lawn May 30 as a part of the Free Spring Concert hosted by Judah Friedlander of 30 Rock. The concert will feature Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground and Minus The Bear.