Posted on November 15, 2001 at 5:10 p.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Stephanie Jones, a senior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and a member of the UAB Gospel Choir, placed fourth at “Amateur Night at the Apollo” in Harlem, New York, on October 17. Jones, 21, will return once more to the Apollo on December 8 to perform against other winners. If she wins again, she’ll compete for the grand prize, she said.
For her Apollo debut, Jones sang "Never Gonna Let You Go" by Faith Evans, one of her favorite singers. She performed last, one of the hardest spots in the line-up reserved for the best performers, the MC told the audience.
“I was not nervous when I sang at all,” Jones said, “because the excitement of being on that famous stage in front of all of those people had taken over. I am very proud of my performance, and I had the best time up there. I never thought that I would perform at the Apollo! I am blessed.”
Jones, of Phenix City, is the daughter of Georgetta McBride Jones and the late Stephen L. Jones. She will graduate from UAB next summer with a degree in psychology, and she plans to continue graduate school at UAB and earn her doctorate for a career in child psychology.
Jones credits the Gospel Choir and director Kevin Turner for helping her succeed.
“I have been singing all of my life, in church, at weddings, at various talent shows and in the UAB Gospel Choir,” Jones said. “Kevin Turner was very instrumental in preparing me for the Apollo. He guided me in terms of proper stage presence, delivery of my song, timing and vocal advice. In the choir, we have a lot of fun singing, enjoying each other and celebrating our spirituality. I was also able to build more confidence for singing on front of large crowds by singing with the choir.”
“Amateur Night at the Apollo” is the original show that started many years ago and helped launch the careers of people like James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Alicia Keys and others, Jones said. This show is a little different from the “Showtime at the Apollo” — it is not televised, there are ten contestants instead of five and four winners are chosen, first through fourth place winners.
Jones’ "Apollo experience" began last summer when she and her family went on vacation to New York to visit relatives. The family visited many popular tourist attractions, including Rockefeller Center, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and the Twin Towers. Regular viewers of the television show, Jones and her family went to the Wednesday amateur night show and “had a blast.”
During the intermission, the host announced auditions for the next Saturday morning, and Jones decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The day of auditions, Jones and her sister drove from Queens to Harlem. The line for the auditions was down the street, with about 300 people auditioning. After waiting for three hours, Jones was called to sing for four judges for approximately 20 seconds. But that was enough time for the judges to decide. Jones was invited to return in October.
Jones is the second student under Turner’s tutelage to compete at the Apollo, Turner said. Five years ago, Lemga Ford from the UAB Gospel Choir left New York spellbound with her rendition of Jennifer Holliday's "I am telling you." Since then Lemenga has been featured on several music videos and appeared with hip hop artist Aaron Hall, Turner said.
Jones was also assisted by Ray Reach, UAB music instructor and director of jazz studies, who scored her music for the band.