Winner To Be Crowned At Amateur Night Finale at The Apollo

Now in its 90th year, the winner of America's longest running talent show Amateur Night at The Apollo will be crowned. From a global pool of vocalists, rappers, dancers, instrumentalists, comedians, spoken-word artists, and other performers, one talented entertainer will be taking home the highly coveted Amateur Night Grand Prize—which has jump-started the careers of artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, H.E.R., and the Jackson 5—as well as $20,000.  

Contestants between the ages of 5 and 17 will likewise compete for the title of “Child Star of Tomorrow” and a $5,000 prize. As always, audience members will decide the winner of this year's championship title, participating in the competition's 90-year tradition of "cheering” and “booing” each contestant to determine who advances. Tickets start at $33 and are still available for purchase by visiting www.apollotheater.org/amateur-night/.  

The Apollo's original, large-scale talent competition is hosted by comedian Capone (NY Kings of Comedy, Def Comedy Jam) and features perennial favorites including C.P. Lacey in the role of the “Executioner” (in charge of ushering off eliminated contestants); Greginald Spencer, the “Set It Off Man”; and Amateur Night's longstanding famous house band led by music director, Michael Mitchell (MJ The Musical), featuring DaiQuan Davis on drums, Reggie Young on bass, and Matt Oestreicher on guitar and keyboard.  

Since its inception in 1934, the Apollo's signature Amateur Night has attracted audiences from all corners of the globe and given a platform to what are now some of the biggest names in entertainment, including D'Angelo, Luther Vandross, Lauryn Hill, and H.E.R. Amateur Night has long been revered by artists as a transformative experience where up-and-coming talent feel the power of the legendary performers who have come before them, and where audience responses can help make or break a career.  

Contestants for this season's finale are as follows: 

Adult contestants: 

• T-Dash (Taurus Dearman, Sr.) -- Singer from Houston, TX 
• Charlotte Odusanya – Singer from New York City, NY 
• Miku Yamasaki – Singer from Japan 
• Hannah Hershman – Singer from Chicago, Illinois  
• MaeOla Bolton – Singer from Bloomfield, NJ  
• Jeremy Cousar – Singer from Charlotte, North Carolina  
• Cruz Angel (Cruz Angel Pacheco) -- Singer from Lindenhurst, NY
• Edwin Cornell McKnight – Singer from Pittsburgh, PA
• NAJEE (Alton Finney Davis) -- Singer from Freeport, NY
• Micah E. Clarke – Singer from New York City, NY
• Jadin Alexander (Jadin Alexander Smith) -- Poet from Franklin Park, NJ
• Yui Yui (Yui Kaneko) -- Dancer from Ikoma, Japan 

Child contestants: 

• Sogna Bella Santana – Singer from Seaford, NY 
• James Wimbley – Singer from Hendersonville, TN 
• Jacob Lopez -- Singer/Pianist from Lodi, NJ 

The performance will be held on Wednesday, June 26 at 7:30PM EST at The Apollo's Historic Theater – 253 W. 125th Street.

ABOUT THE APOLLO 

The legendary Apollo—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, The Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world. In 2024, The Apollo opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, marking the first ever expansion and renovation of The Apollo in its 90-year history. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org. 
 

With music at its core, The Apollo's programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend The Apollo's legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations. 

Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, The Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at The Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R. D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Jazmine Sullivan, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and The Apollo's forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.