With ‘RESPECT,’ 11-year-old could advance in Apollo competition

When AlexAnndrea Yohontas Simpson takes the stage at the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York, on July 10, she could win the respect of the audience.

In fact the 11-year-old will sing “RESPECT,” Aretha Franklin’s signature hit song from the 1960s, and “put her own spin on it,” said Katrina Whitfield, AlexAnndrea’s mother.

“She will be creative. She will make the song her own,” she said.

Eleven-year-old AlexAnndrea Simpson is
ready to audition for Amateur Night at the
Apollo in New York in April. (Courtesy photos)

Whitfield will be front and center at The Apollo Theatre for the Amateur Night competition to cheer on AlexAnndrea when she belts out her version of “RESPECT.” She’s her daughter’s most ardent supporter.

AlexAnndrea nevertheless remains confident using her voice to relate to the audience, to garner their respect, to kindle their emotions and to keep The Executioner from sweeping her off the stage.

“Being on stage gives me the confidence,” she said. “When you can take over the stage, you feel strong with emotions…and it makes me feel kind of powerful.”

AlexAnndrea will need that power to convince the tough and no-holds-barred audience that she is just that good. In fact, she has to “Be Good or Be Gone,” an edict of sort from the audience signaling who stays and who leaves.

Undaunted by the competition, AlexAnndrea plans to perform her very best under the circumstances. She’s not planning on getting swept off the stage. Instead, she said, “I want to take it to another level.”

The emerging singer, dancer and actress first auditioned in April in the Child Star category for Amateur Night at the Apollo. If she makes it past the curt audience on July 10, she’ll move to the third and final round on Sept. 27 for an opportunity to be the Grand Finale Winner and collect a cash prize of $5,000.

“Right now she’s on vocal rest,” said Whitfield, and added that AlexAnndrea’s diet has been changed to maximize her voice in order to beat the competition and win the audience’s approval.

“She’s ready,” her mother said.

Singing has always been a part of
AlexAnndrea Simpson's life.

Whitfield noted that AlexAnndrea has been ready for an opportunity of this magnitude since she first arrived in the world.

“She was born with it (innate talent),” she said. “She was humming songs before she started talking. I knew it before she came out because she had the cry of a six-month-old baby.”

It was a “soprano cry,” she added.

The household was conducive for AlexAnndrea’s arrival and her inclination to sing. “That’s all we do is play music. We don’t watch TV,” said Whitfield, mother of six daughters, all of whom are talented, and a son, James Whitfield, 27.

For example, Mariah Simpson, 21, sings, acts and dances; Jamesha Whitfield, 29, writes poetry; and Andrea Simpson, 17, will play Dorothy; and Shamiah Simpson, 19, will play Evilene in “The Whiz” on July 25 at the University of Memphis Rose Theater.

The sisters are behind AlexAnndrea 100 percent, said Whitfield, and added that Andrea Simpson will audition at the Apollo in September.

“She’s (AlexAnndrea) a natural. When I first met her at eight, I told her she was going to be a star,” said Chrysti Chandler, founder and artistic director of the Young Actors Guild (YAG), a nonprofit dance and theatre academy.

AlexAnndrea is one of Chandler’s prized students. “We provided vocal training,” she said. “I’ve worked with her for three years. She’s real good. She has a powerful voice…that raspy soul voice.”

Chandler also taught her about the importance of stage presence.

“I feel lucky to be there (at YAG),” said AlexAnndrea. “Ms. Chrysti puts me on the spot and I thank her. She pushes me to sing and sing out on stage.”

 Whitfield said her daughter has an old spirit. “She listens to Aretha Franklin, Frank Murphy, Yolanda Adams, Fantasia, and, of course, Beyoncé. But she is drawn to ‘Old School’ music.”

If AlexAnndrea’s voice were compared to another singer, it would be the legendary Ella Fitzgerald, a gifted jazz singer once referred to as the First Lady of Song and the Queen of Jazz.

“I like her voice; I like her music,” said AlexAnndrea, who has an affinity as well for gospel music, up-tempo songs and the classics.

While AlexAnndrea is honing her skills as a singer, she hasn’t neglected school. She had a 4.0 GPA at Vision Preparatory Charter School in South Memphis and will start the 2019-2020 school year as a sixth-grader.

Before graduating Vision Prep, AlexAnndrea had divided her time between school and practice. “I’d go to school, come home and do my homework, and practice my singing from seven to nine.”

Memphis is known for its hotbed of talent the world over and now serves as a launching pad for AlexAnndrea. Born in Alabama, the family moved to the Bluff City from Detroit in 2011.

Now Memphis is home.

“My mom and dad moved to Memphis in 2008,” said Whitfield. “He was diagnosed with Parkinson in 2010. So I came here to help them out.”

She fell in love with Memphis and found the right people at the right time to help prepare AlexAnndrea for the big stage.

“It’s the rich history, the ‘Old School’ music, and the weather,” said Whitfield, confident that her daughter’s talent will lead to the caviar of entertainment success some day.

Amateur Night at the Apollo could be that barometer – if The Executioner doesn’t sweep her off the stage.

Chrysti Chandler plans new home for the Young Actors Guild

The advance students of the Young Actors Guild performed at the April 4th
Foundation's 19th Annual Commemorative Awards. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Chrysti Chandler stood in the back of the room and looked on approvingly while her young dance troupe was performing at the April 4th Foundation’s 19th Annual Commemorative Awards at the Hilton Hotel in Memphis.

This was one of the dance troupe’s finest moments and more than entertainment filler on the program that evening. It was symmetry and poetry in motion. Their precise moves were imbued with the spirit of the ancestors.

“I think they did a great job,” said Chandler, basing her opinion on the applause from the audience and numerous positive comments that were posted on social media platforms.

The venue was one of many for Chandler that showcases the talent and creativity of the members of the Young Actors Guild (YAG), a nonprofit dance and theatre academy she founded 28 years ago.

Chrysti Chandler is the group's founder and
artistic director. (Photo by Sabrina Norwood)

YAG Community Arts is located at 619 North Seventh St. in Memphis. There are two satellite locations: 1926 First Commercial Dr. N. in Southaven, Miss., and 1391 Ferguson St., also in Memphis.

YAG has performed at hundreds of venues in the Mid-South and before prominent individuals since its inception. The impact that YAG has had in the community has touched over 10,000 youth, according to the group’s website.

In 2021, Chandler will be preparing to move YAG’s complete operation into the old Memphis Fire Station No. 22 at Lamar and Pendleton after the building is converted into studio and dance spaces.

The building will be christened the Harriet Performing Arts for Children.

“It will be named after Harriet Tubman (the abolitionist who freed more than 300 slaves),” said Chandler. “We’re planning to break ground in six months and complete it in the next two years.”

There will be space for artists to practice their dance moves and a lobby as well. “I don’t know the seating capacity right now,” she said, adding: “We will do workshops so they (youth) can do their own work on stage.”

After the “Harriet” is up and fully operational, Chandler plans to teach youth to develop, direct and produce their original plays. She wants them to learn the full gamut of production.

“Our hope is to bring in tourists so they can see the talent that we have in Memphis,” she said. “We will have other ongoing productions, but this will be coming from Memphis’ own playwrights.”

If the “pieces” are good enough, Chandler plans to enter them into festivals. She is confident that her group can measure up in talent and creativity, no matter the age bracket.

Alexandria Edwards, for example, is proof that Chandler’s performing arts group can move up to the next level. The 15-year-old breezed through the monologue at the awards program with passion and emotional fervor before the entire group started moving to the music and rhythm of gospel artist Kurt Carr’s “For Every Mountain.”

Alexandria is one of 150 kids that Chandler is training at the dance and theatre academy. “They come from everywhere,” she said, even as far away as Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta, when the summer camps convene.

Three of her students, she pointed out, auditioned in California and were accepted into the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Summer Intensive in Atlanta. Others have gone on to realize varying degrees of success.

In 2006, Gideon McKinney made it as a semi-finalist in Season 5 of “American Idol” before he was eliminated. In 2013, Kris Thomas, also a singing phenom, competed in Season 4 of “The Voice.” And in 2018, Gideon’s younger sister, Evvie McKinney, won the first season of “The Four: Battle for Stardom.”

“I trained them all,” said Chandler, who performed her first play, “Little Red Riding Hood,” when she was just 5 years old in the back yard of her mother’s home in South Memphis.

She converted the patio into a stage. The audience, she said, filled up the backyard. Many of them arrived from Glenview, Castalia and other neighborhoods in South Memphis. Her creativity was just beginning to blossom at that tinder age.

“The arts kept me alive,” she said. “That was my escape.”

Chandler’s group is scheduled to perform a tribute to Michael Jackson, “To Michael With Love,” on May 4, 6 p.m., at the University of Memphis Rose Theatre. This is another opportunity for them to show their teacher and trainer that they are ready for the big stage.

For more information about the Young Actors Guild, call 901-240-2103 or 662-536-6122. A capital campaign is underway to help transform the firehouse into the Harriet Performing Arts for Children. Contact Sabrina Norwood at 901-240-2103 for details.