Photo by Niko
Queens-bred rapper IZZY took home the grand prize at the 8th annual Kollaboration New York talent competition on Saturday, Sept. 28 at the NYU Skirball Center. IZZY won the $1,000 prize money and opened for Kollaboration Los Angeles alumni and Youtube sensation Clara C at her NYC show at Stage 48 on Saturday, Oct. 12.
IZZY will also move on to represent New York alongside 12 other cities competing for the chance to win Kollaboration Star on Saturday, Nov. 16 in Pasadena, CA; for the opportunity to take home the grand prize of $20,000.
Coming in second place on Saturday night was the dueling piano duo, Super Piano Bros., comprised of music students Oskar Yao and Wesley Chu. The pair performed a spell-binding rendition of the theme song from Zelda and won over the audience with their charm and personalities. Oskar is currently a senior attending Julliard and Columbia, and Wesley is currently pursuing his graduate degree at the New England Conservatory of Music.
We truly enjoyed all the performances that were including singer-songwriter Austin Luu, vocalists Shilpa Narayan, Adinah, Bohan Phoenix, Justin Joo; acoustic duet HAYOO, and dance group Powerpuff Boys and step group noMusic.
Hosts Ellie Lee and David Yi did a great job entertaining the crowd, especially when Dumbfoundead hosted the freestyle contest. Fans went crazy! In addition, special guests Ryan Mitchell Grey and Bea Go performed at the 2013 event.
We loved seeing our friends as judges – photojournalist Corky Lee and news anchor Richard Lui.
Great job Kollbaoration NY 2013! See you all next year and good luck IZZY!
Leave a Reply