Motown Museum Launches “AMPLIFY: The Sound of Detroit”

Motown Museum announced today that it has launched its inaugural AMPLIFY: The Sound of Detroit singing competition series and is accepting audition tapes now through September 18. Motown Museum Chairwoman and CEO Robin Terry made the announcement.

Open to solo singers and singing groups of two to five people, participants must submit a three-minute (or less) audition video to be considered to compete in one of the four the semi-final rounds taking place in September, all hosted by Detroit’s own 105.9 Kiss-FM host Angie Starr. During the semi-finals, each competitor or competing group will perform in front of a panel of judges. The judges will then select a total of nine competitors to advance to the grand finale on October 12 at the Garden Theater where they will perform a classic Motown song and compete for the opportunity to win a $2,500 cash prize and a studio session with Motown Museum AMPLIFY producers Drew Schultz and Kern Brantley. Prior to the grand finale, Clay McMurray, Detroit based soul songwriter, producer, and recording engineer who was in charge of the quality control department for Motown Records in the 1970's, will offer finalists coaching to help them prepare.

“Motown served as a hit-making and artist development factory, and we are so excited to launch the inaugural AMPLIFY competition series, getting back to our roots of singing and recreating that same talent-nurturing that Berry Gordy first created years ago,” said Terry. “With so much undiscovered talent that exists in Detroit, we have made it a focus over the years to create opportunities, like our IGNITE and SPARK summer camps and Motown Mic: The Spoken Word competition series, to help usher in the next generation of talent and allow artists from all walks of life to showcase their creativity and share it with the community. AMPLIFY will celebrate the sound of Detroit while doing just that.”

The semi-final events, open to the public, will be hosted on September 11, 18 and 25 from 8-10p.m. at the Detroit Institute of Music Education (DIME) located at 1265 Griswold in Detroit. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $10, and students with ID and Motown Members who present their membership cards can purchase tickets for $5 at the door.

Singers must be 16 years or older to participate and must submit an application and audition video via the Museum’s website. At least one person from each finalist group must be present at the semi-final competition on September 25 in order to qualify for the grand finale.

For full details on AMPLIFY, visit (https://www.motownmuseum.org/amplify/) or call 313.875.2264.

About Motown Museum

Founded in 1985 by Esther Gordy Edwards, Motown Museum is a 501(c)(3) not for profit, tax-exempt organization in Detroit. The Museum is committed to preserving, protecting and presenting the Motown story through authentic, inspirational and educational experiences.