The Tribune

By NOELLE NICOLLS

Tribune Features Editor

nnicolls@tribunemedia.net

IT IS one of the most legendary and brutal stages for amateur artists. The rowdy audience, instructed at the start of each show to judge on talent alone, is known to be a harsh critic. There is no shame in collectively booing a contestant off the stage if they fail to meet an acceptable standard.

However, the one and only Apollo Theatre in New York City is also a stage that has produced timeless stars, like Ella Fitzgerlad, who performed there as a 15-year-old.

Last Wednesday, Bahamian musician Kamilah Gibson attempted to win the championship title in the final round of the 2013 Amateur Night at the Apollo competition. Kamilah entered the finals as a top contender, having won two previous rounds.

Amateur Night is the longest standing talent competition in the United States, dating back to 1934. It features performers from a cross-section of genres, including dance, music and spoken word.

When the giant, on-stage noise meter tallied the scores at the end of the night, Kamilah was inched out by a Japanese dance duo and a Korean beat boxer. Kamilah’s sultry style is a mix between Tracey Chapman and Lauryn Hill. Placing third in the competition, she could boast of being the top vocalist for a bitter sweet finish.

“I am really committed to giving music a try professionally. Having the prize money would have been very helpful but I am still willing to try as hard as I have to work in order to make that happen,” said Kamilah, speaking about the $10,000 she stood to win in the finals.

Kamilah’s performance was not without drama. Seated just one row behind her family and friends, who travelled from the Bahamas, Canada and South Florida to witness the rising star in action, were a handful of supporters from a competing dance group. Kamilah trounced the dancers in an earlier round, which prompted their supporters to come to the finals seeking blood.

The obnoxious group started a chorus of booing from the moment Kamilah uttered her first line. Although they sustained their efforts throughout the duration of Kamilah’s performance, they failed to rally any other support from the 1,500-plus audience at the three-tiered theatre. Kamilah said she was completely unaware of the booing and only heard the cheers from the wider audience, which showed overwhelming support for her performance.

Her family members, however, were so distracted by the booing, and their efforts to drown it out, they could barely hear or enjoy the performance. The Kamilah fan club felt a sense of vindication when the dance group finished last in the finals with only 48 points on the noise meter. To further quell the disappointment, Kamilah staged an encore performance at a private after-party.

Driven by the support of friends and family, Kamilah said it was they who motivated her to seriously pursue a music career in the first place. Kamilah is a little bashful when it comes to her talent, but it is clear she really lives to perform. And even though she has faced off in front of one of the harshest audiences, it is apparent that the affirmation from friendly faces still pushes her forward.

In her New York studio apartment, where she is pursuing a graduate degree at New York University in Media, Culture and Communication, she revels in the private company of her friends.

Her friends nagged her to pursue music, and when she heard strangers echoing their calls, she finally heeded.

Next, Kamilah will turn her focus to the recording studio, where she plans to release original music.