Video: Ki-Juan Minors “Steals Show” In Contest

February 14, 2015

[Updated with video] Bermudian equestrian competitor Ki-Juan Minors recently pushed himself closer to the title of ‘America’s Most Talented Equestrian,” winning over both celebrity judges and the crowd as he went on to win the second round of the American Equestrians Got Talent auditions.

Mr. Minors performed renditions of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” and Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.”

According to an online report, “Bermuda native Ki-Juan Minors is no stranger to being in the spotlight, and now he is making a bid for the title of America’s Most Talented Equestrian.

“The crowd on Wednesday night at The Grille Fashion Cuisine in Wellington overwhelmingly selected him as the winner of the second round of American Equestrians Got Talent auditions after his incredible performances of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” and Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.”

“The celebrity judges – Mason Phelps Jr., founder and president of Phelps Media Group; Tim Dutta, CEO of The Dutta Corporation; and Lisa Wilcox, Grand Prix dressage competitor and Olympic medalist – were blown away by Minors’ performance. Wilcox even joked, “Ki-Juan, you are killing me softly!”

This wasn’t Minors’ first time showing off his impressive pipes to the Wellington crowd, as he was named 2008 Equestrian Idol and has sung the national anthem at popular events like the Hampton Classic and the Trump Invitational.

“Despite his clear talent and comfort on the stage, Minors hasn’t had formal voice training.”

“My mom was in a group years ago, and she always had my sister and me singing,” Minors said. “My sister and I started a group when we were younger and we did song competitions and sang at weddings. We even opened for Patti LaBelle when she came to Bermuda in 2001.”

“The judges and many spectators even suggested that the professional rider, who is a show jumping competitor and an ambassador for TuffRider, take advantage of his amazing musical gifts and make a career shift.

“U.S. Dressage Chef d’Equipe Robert Dover is organizing American Equestrians Got Talent as a fundraiser for USEF High Performance Dressage programs

“I have considered breaking into the singing world, but it’s a bit of a rocky road trying to break into the music industry,” Minors said. “Horses are my heart and music is my soul.”

“As the audition winner, Minors earned a $500 prize sponsored by PSdressage.com and a spot in the lineup for the March 15 finale at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival show grounds, where he will square off against the other weekly winners for a shot at the $5,000 grand prize sponsored by Robert Ross, P.A., Luxury Equestrian Realtor for Keller Williams.”

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  1. A&R says:

    Wow! Vocals remind me of Tevin Campbell and Tony Thompson.