Monty Sophomore Wins Broadway Singing Competition

By Kiran Subramanian

— Montgomery’s Noyonika Gupta won the Broadway Singing Contest, sponsored by the State Theater of New Jersey in New Brunswick in July. The Montgomery High School sophomore was one of three finalists, and she won the competition in a worldwide vote.

Noyonika Gupta

“I was so excited!” Gupta said. “It was a surprise to me. I am very grateful.” Listen to her award-winning rendition of "Before It's Over" from Dogfight.

Gupta and her friend Diya Sareen will give a free concert — a mix of Broadway and pop songs — online on Saturday, Sept 12 at 10 am. Register on vibrnz.

During a telephone interview, Gupta said her family inspired her to sing. “Music is a big part of my family and my grandmother always inspired me to sing.” As a result, Gupta was able to sing in regional and state choirs. While Gupta says she loves to sing pop songs, her musical inspirations come from multiple genres, ranging from, “...rock, western/Indian classical, theater, and so many more.” Her favorite part about singing, Gupta says is that, “I love how I can make other people feel happy when I am able to sing for them.”

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While Gupta is a talented singer, she is also an actress. She was the lead in the school musical Disney’s Moana Jr. Her favorite part about the role, she says, was “...when I got to meet little girls (from the audience) who were dressed up as Moana who treated me like a princess!”

Furthermore, Gupta says that her favorite role to play was Moana because, “It was the first role I ever played that hadn’t been done before, as it was the first production of Moana Jr. in the ‘continental’ United States. It was also a very different environment, since it was more about the music and story.”

Theater is not all fun and games, as Gupta explains: “There is a lot of practice for theater. Sometimes we are there from morning to night! It’s a big commitment.” However, Gupta says it is worth it in the end. To prepare, she says, "we have something called a show circle where we hype each other up before going on.”

As previously mentioned, the world of singing and theater is not easy and there are many challenges. According to Gupta, one of the biggest challenges has to be, “staying relevant — because there are always new talents rising everywhere. After a point it can become more about the physical appeal rather than the actual talent itself!”

Gupta recommends that people interested in theater and singing, “... just put yourself out there! It can be super scary but there’s no harm in trying because it is worth it.” Outside of singing and theater, Gupta says that she enjoys running, watching YouTube, playing the piano, and baking. ■