Alaisha Johnson-Rhone has dreamt of doing music her whole life.
“My mother says as soon as I could talk, I started singing,” said Johnson-Rhone, junior business administration major. “Everyone in my family except my mother can sing. … My aunt would sing to me when I was younger. It’s just something that I’ve grown up around.”
Johnson-Rhone will compete for the third time at Live at the Apollo, a campus-wide talent competition that showcases the talent of USI students.
Every year, Johnson-Rohne’s parents drive three hours from Avon, Ind., to see her compete, said Johnson-Rohne. Last year, she sang Adele’s “Someone Like You,” which won first place in the Individual Lyrical Interpretation category.
“I love the setting,” Johnson-Rhone said. “You know, it’s very friendly. … We sit there, we talk, sort of as a family – as a USI family.”
This year she is singing a song by Duffy, Johnson-Rhone said.
The divisions for Live at the Apollo are individual and group lyrical interpretation (songs); individual and group rhythmic interpretation (dance and instruments); individual and group artistic performance (rap and poetry/spoken word); and individual theatrical interpretation (monologues, stand-up comedy and dialogues).
Live at the Apollo has had some surprising acts in the past. One year, one student juggled devil sticks, someone juggled on a unicycle and someone beatboxed and played the guitar, said Kacheyta McClellan, Multicultural Center assistant director.
There have been some expected acts, such as rapping and singing R&B songs, that have blown people away, but there will be surprises this year, McClellan said.
There are cash prizes for every category, ranging from $100 to $300.
The Multicultural Center has sponsored Live at the Apollo for more than 10 years, McClellan said.
Nino N’Cognito, a USI alumnus and host of 106.1 KISS FM, will host the event. A live band, Blended Society, will perform when the doors open at 5:30 p.m. until Live at the Apollo begins at 6 p.m., McClellan said.
Live at the Apollo will be Saturday in Carter Hall. Admission for the event is $3 for students in advance, $5 for students at the door, and $5 for everyone else. Preordered tickets can be purchased at the Multicultural Center office and USI’s bookstore. There will be limited seating, McClellan said.
“We want everyone to come and feel like … they walked away winners,” McClellan said. “Getting in front of people to do anything, whether or not you like it, … you have to stretch yourself. You have to put yourself out there, so we want to reward those people and encourage them to do that.”
