November 6th, 2010 was a night full of inspiration and talent filled the Anaheim Heritage Forum for AJ Rafael’s annual Music Speaks Benefit Show to help raise awareness for Autism.
Outside the Heritage Forum were gathered many young fans; ready and excited to claim their seats for the show. I head to will-call to pick up my press badge and ticket, and was directed to enter around the corner through the backstage door. I headed over to the backstage door and thought to myself about how excited I was for this event and about all the amazing artists BakitWhy.com would be able to interview and get to know. Little did I know that I would be so inspired and greatly affected by everyone’s willingness and charitable acts towards AJ’s campaign for Autism.
The amazing line-up included Devotion, JR Aquino, MVCC, Paper Dolls, Michael Carreon, Leejay, Passion, Taylor Parks, Jennifer Chung, and The AJ Rafael Band. This year AJ brought something new and different to the stage by adding a competition portion for which fans and supporters submitted an audition video showcasing their talents in either Dancing, Singing, or Rapping. There were numerous audition videos and 5 were chosen to showcase their act live at Music Speaks. Judges that night included American Idol Finalist Andrew Garcia and Tori Kelly, YouTube’s Lilcdawg, Cathy Nguyen, and Quest’s Victor Kim. The winner received $1,000.00; half of which went to a charity of their choice.
This year talented young dancer Rocelyn popped her way into 1st place. Her charity of choice was World Vision. World Vision is an organization which helps children and their families in over 100 countries worldwide “reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.”
As the show ran I was able to get glimpses of the acts in between our backstage interviews, and from what I saw the audience was beyond pleased and enjoyed every bit of the show. There were so many highlights to the show but one that stood out the most was a Thank You Video to AJ from his family and friends produced by the guys of Square Marden. The video thanked AJ for all his selfless acts, and let him know how proud they all were of him for everything that he has done for the community, and of course for The Autism Speaks Charity. His reaction was priceless, and the video just showed and taught everyone that one person can make a difference.
The night ended on a high note with a debut live performance from the dance group Paper Dolls, which features AJ’s younger sister Jasmine Rafael. The show ended and the house lights went up and the audience could not stop praising the show and all the talented acts. If you weren’t able to make it out that night, be sure to check out next year’s show because I am sure it will once again be one that should not be missed.
For more information and/or to donate to the cause, visit Autism Speaks at www.autismspeaks.org.
