After a top finish, Columbia singer set for finals in Apollo’s famous amateur contest

Brittany Turnipseed has done it again. For a third time, she wooed the audience and judges at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night. Now she’ll be headed to the famous venue’s finals. But before she heads to the last contest in New York, she’s dropping a single in her home state.

Turnipseed, a Columbia R&B singer. placed third in an August amateur night at the historically black venue in Harlem. To get the position, she belted out a take on Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” with an extended outro in which she let her voice fly. The third-place finish was enough to send her to the “notoriously ‘tough’ audience” of the Apollo for its crowning amateur night in November.

If Turnipseed comes out on top in November, she’ll be the Apollo season winner and be rewarded $20,000. She got where she’s at in the renown contest by getting ranking finishes, including a first place, in June and July.

“I was highly surprised with each win,” Turnipseed told The State in July. “I really didn’t think I’d get this far.”

While Turnipseed is excited but nervous about returning in November. She’s just hoping to be able to return to the stage at all. She’ll be eight months pregnant on the date of the finals.

“This makes the moment even more special,” Turnipseed said. “I think that this is a wonderful way to start a career in music, and it will be a wonderful story for my daughter. Who knows, maybe two stars will be born that night.”

Famous musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Jimi Hendrix have won at an Apollo Amateur Night.

Before she heads back to Harlem, she’s dropping a single, “Love Drunk,” which she described as “sexy funk.” The song is set to be released on Oct. 21. The details of a release party and show are still being worked out, Turnipseed said.

“The guys and I have worked so hard,” Turnipseed said about her band and the single. “It’s been a blessing to have them working on this project with me.”

She now has a crowd-funding campaign to help pay for the Apollo trip and a new album.

You can see clips of Turnipseed’s performances at the Apollo here and here. You can donate to her GoFundMe here.

This story was originally published September 29, 2018 at 5:35 PM.