APASA's Got Talent 2020 🎤
APASA’s Got Talent 2020, as told from the perspectives of APASA Interns Jennifer Lee and Richard Huang.
As the mist settled and the blue lights dimmed, the audience let out a collective gasp. At 6:30 pm, Tommy’s Place revealed the talents of the next generation. In the performances that followed, members of Tommy’s Place were taken on an emotional rollercoaster. Throughout the night, we saw starstrucked faces in the crowd from breathtaking dance performances, smiles from a stand-up performance, and teary-eyed expressions from the beautiful pieces sung that night.
Our MCs Yunmi and Austin made their way up to the stage and introduced APASA, APAHF, and our incredible judges - Year of the Ox (YOX), Ben Chung from the Kinjaz, and the JRodTwins. The judge’s lighthearted jokes and insight about their fields made the night both entertaining and informative.
Now, the good stuff. Onto the night’s performances.
Amazing photography by APASA Intern Josh Lu 🤩
Yani opened the night with a bang. Her confidence and detailed approach to small movements wowed everyone in the room. Ben Chung described her energy as very unexpected, coming onto the stage with a very sweet and delicate vibe, yet executing her moves with such assurance and power.
Next, Matthew serenaded us with a cover of Bruno Mars’s “Versace on the Floor”. Bringing “good vibes” and a radiant smile, Matthew definitely demonstrated his abilities and range with the song choice. Andrew brought his comedic genius to entertain the crowd. Stand-up comedy is a difficult thing, but Andrew held himself with confidence, and as a result, Andrew successfully cracked up the JRodTwins.
Asli Baat, USC’s premier acapella group brought their A-game, first singing an English x Hindi mashup, and then a more contemporary pop song, “Greedy” by Ariana Grande. We were blown away from the incredible control that the group possessed. A cacophony of harmonic voices created a song with so many layers, it’d make an onion jealous. YOX was pleasantly surprised at the craft AB seemingly perfected, and the JRodTwins loved the performance.
KCN killed the dance floor with their cover of Red Velvet’s “Psycho.” In fact, their presence and eye contact was so powerful, the JRodTwins had to look away a few times. Their powerful energy from start to finish emitted towards the audience, and at times made us even feel like we could someday dance. Finally, K & S performed a cover of “Good Thing” by Zedd and Kehlani, and wow, were we mesmerized. Nobody could look away, but nobody knew whether to focus on K or S either. The mix between the strong voice and the strong guitar blew everybody away.
After getting to watch a video of some of Ben’s work, we engaged in a short Q&A session with him about college, aspirations, and following your dreams. He inspired us with his insights about balancing his artistic vision with reality and the challenges of creating art as a business. Afterwards, he absolutely killed his live performance. Every single little intricate movement was obvious, and it left the crowd wide-eyed and stunned.
The JRodTwins sang harmoniously in Vietnamnese, followed by a cover of “Shallow” by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Hoping to really tell their story through their performance, Jason and Justin were able to speak to every single person in that room through their vocals. Nobody could look away. The performance was so angelic and filled the room with an emotional and physical ambiance (ultimately curated by phone flashlights). Everybody was swooning.
YOX ended the night with one of the most iconic sets of all time. Even backstage, some of APASA’s E-Board and interns couldn’t ignore the energy that was coming from the room. As everyone chanted along with YOX and began dancing in front of the stage, the room turned into a party. YOX’s ability to command attention and mobilize the crowd was indestructible. It was insane.
With the performances coming to a close, it was time to finally determine the winner of this year’s APASA Got Talent. Our judges deliberated in the back while the audience had the chance to vote for their Fan Favorite. The performers nervously crowded on the stage, even after receiving remarkable feedback from our judges.
Coming in third place was Yani with her magnificent solo dance. In second place was the killer acapella group, Asli Baat. Crowned both first place and audience favorite was K & S, who took home a $100 Amazon gift card.
Despite the many spills we had throughout the night, everyone enjoyed Boiling Point’s green and black teas. We served them alongside LA’s finest Porto’s pastries and our Coca-Cola Powerade Ultra samples. Truly impeccable noms for a truly impeccable night.
We had such a fun time organizing APASA’s Got Talent this year. Shoutout to our amazing Co-Assistant Director Stacy for working so hard to make this happen. Thank you so much for coming, and we hope to see you again next year!
This ELECTRIC video was created by APASA Intern Ethan Soo 🤩