Contestant Ariana Molkara Talks About Her Hidden Talent - Next on Stage

The Next on Stage competition is narrowing down and we got the chance to chat with the contestants still in the race to win the grand prize!

Ariana Molkara, a 2021 graduate of Poly High School, has been giving us awesome performances each week complete with costumes to match!

What have you been doing during quarantine?

I'm thankful to say that quarantine has actually been quite busy and I have not left too much time for myself to get bored. For one, I still had to do schooling virtually and I had lots of AP exams to study for. I'm excited to say that I am officially done with AP testing now! Besides schooling and this competition of course, I've been reading, trying to do some at-home fitness, playing my ukulele and piano, painting, learning new songs, and frequently FaceTiming my friends who I miss so dearly!

Share a fun fact about you.

Everyone sees me as mostly a classical and musical theater singer, but no one knows that I also rap and I actually write a lot of raps in my own original songs that I haven't released yet. I find it really funny because even when I tell people, they don't believe me and they just laugh.

Share a memory from seeing a show.

When I went to New York last fall, my mom took me to see The Phantom of the Opera for the first time on Broadway. The Phantom of the Opera was the first musical that I ever saw and it's actually what made me fall in love with theater, so seeing it live for the first time was a surreal and emotional experience for me. When the chandelier came falling down, I was just in awe of it all! As I was watching I remember I turned to my mom and said, "I really want to be on that stage."

Want to see Ariana in the top 5? Vote for her HERE!

Inspired by your favorite network TV singing contests, the site invited high school and college aged students to submit videos of themselves performing a song from the musical theatre canon to enter the competition.

Voting for the top 5 is now open! The nominees have submitted all new songs for you to listen to before casting your vote!

Voting for High School will close at 11:59 PM ET on Wednesday, June 17th. Voting for College will close on 11:59 PM ET on Thursday June 18th.

Then tune in for the results LIVE as the judges watch the performances and pick someone from the bottom three to be saved to compete for the top 10! Live shows will air Thursday at 8 PM (high school) and Friday at 8PM (college.)