NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — The Apollo Theatera bastion of Black music and culture and one of New York City’s most famous sites, celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
On Tuesday, the historic theater held its annual spring benefit — its biggest annual fundraising effort, this year raising $3 million — with a star-studded event featuring Usher, Baby faceBig Daddy Kane, Jordin Sparks and more.
Sparks opened the night with a stunning medley of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” and Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.” Then Kym Whitley emerged as a hilarious presenter, joking about producer Babyface, who was being feted, arguing that he should now be known as “grown man face, sexy face, kiss his face”.
She would later tell her own transformative story at The Apollo, sharing with the audience that it was on that stage that she first appeared as a stand-up comedian on television. “If you can do it at The Apollo,” she said, “you can do it anywhere.”
Speeches were given by several Apollo representatives, including President/CEO Michelle Ebanksboard chairman Charles Phillips, executive producer Kamilah Forbes and also New York governor Kathy Hochul.
But it was the performances that really got the audience on their feet. Dancers treated Usher to a choreographed medley of his own songs, from “Yeah!” to “Burn,” “Caught Up” to “Confessions Part II” and beyond.
Usher, who a few months ago wowed audiences with his career retrospective while headlining the 2024 Super Bowl halftime showwas awarded the Icon Award.
In his speech, he recalled watching “Showtime at the Apollo” with his late grandmother. “I remember thinking, ‘Man, one day I’m going to get to this stage’ and ‘I hope one day I get a standing ovation,’” he said as everyone in the audience stood up. “I stand before you humbled by your appreciation.”
“You know, they say if you can do it in New York, you can do it anywhere,” he continued, referencing Whitley’s previous comments. “Well, if you can get to Apollo, you can do anything.”
Fat Joe and Kwanza Jones, former winners of the Apollo’s famous Amateur Night, appeared and led the crowd in singing Babyface’s 1989 hit “Soon as I Get Home.” They were tasked with introducing the super-producer, who had received the inaugural legacy award the day before at the Apollo Theater’s 2024 Walk of Fame ceremony.
“I never imagined I would achieve this,” said Babyface during Monday’s ceremony. “I never actually saw myself, you know, being here at The Apollo. I didn’t want to perform here because I didn’t want to be booed, but I wasn’t booed,” he laughed. “I’m so glad I came here to the Apollo.”
On Tuesday, his acceptance speech mostly abandoned jokes to express gratitude. “Being here at The Apollo – which is so hard for me to find the words, because to be honest, I never imagined myself as being on stage at the Apollo. I was always the guy behind the scenes and wrote songs for everyone,” he said. “I’m just flabbergasted to be considered part of this.”
“I’m just going to thank everyone. Normally I stay here, I’m funnier than this,” he continued, “Usually I am. But I’m really touched by it and I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I thank.”
The night ended with a series of singers taking the stage to serenade Babyface with some of the most famous songs he has produced: Toxi Braxton ‘You Mean the World to Me’, ‘Change the World’ by Eric Clapton, ‘I’m Your Baby Tonight’ by Whitney Houston and so on.
Highlights included Karyn White playing her own “Superwoman,” Johnny Gill getting everyone out of their seats for his “My, My, My” and, of course, Babyface himself closing the night with “Whip Appeal”. They’re called classics for a reason.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
