Miss Cherry Delight Wins Wavy Award For Best Live Performance At Abrons Arts Center

The music world was set ablaze at the 2023 Wavy Awards as the electrifying Miss Cherry Delight took home the prestigious honor for Best Live Performance. This esteemed accolade crowns her unparalleled talent and dedication to creating an immersive experience for her audiences.

Miss Cherry Delight was a 2007 Circle In The Square Theater School student who has used her skills in theatrical performance to become a critically acclaimed shock rock singer, songwriter and performer.

The night was ignited as Miss Cherry Delight made a grand entrance onto the red carpet, emerging from the back of a hearse adorned with an array of striking skulls. Daring, bold, and unapologetic, her entrance set the tone for the boundary-pushing evening.

Sporting an original and mesmerizing dress designed by the acclaimed Drag Race and Broadway costume designer, Mr Gorgeous, who built the costumes for Spamalot alongside designer Jen Capiro, Miss Cherry Delight captivated onlookers with a dress resembling splashes of sparkling blood cascading down her naked form. The attire, a fusion of artistry and audacity, embodied the essence of her performance style - daring, theatrical, and utterly unforgettable.

For her nomination and win, Cherry was judged on several performances including her concert at Jonathan Toubin's venue TV Eye in March, and the sold out Coney Island burlesque-concert hybrid Cherry Hellodies IIII on Sept 2nd, a show conceived and produced each year by Cherry herself. From the bill she just shared on Halloween night at TV Eye with the group "Tragedy", vocalist and lead guitarist Mo'Royce Peterson says "As a live performer Miss Cherry Delight is so dynamic, so engaging and so unique. Musically it's Shock Rock but it gives you all the feelings."

The award was presented by legendary talent manager and writer Sophia Chang, who is known respectively as the first Asian woman in Hip Hop. In her impassioned speech, Miss Cherry Delight expressed her gratitude, saying, "I am so proud tonight that my very first music award is in recognition for my passion for complete live spectacle. I may be a singer, but I am proud to be more than just my voice. I am so hungry to always invite my audience to play with me in the wonder, the humor, the tragedy and the ecstasy and the FUN darkness."

Embracing her identity as a woman in Shock Rock, a genre that remains underrepresented, particularly by women who are Filipina and queer, she emphasized the power of vulnerability. "Being a woman in Shock Rock, I have found there is so much power in complete vulnerability. I strive to BURN the envelope and give new definition to what it means to see a concert. Miss Cherry Delight will NEVER be just a band, but a full theatrical music experience that grows and grows."

Acknowledging her journey, Miss Cherry Delight dedicated the award to her producer Justin Ethan Mathews and honored the memory of Frankie Maddox Rex of The FMs, culminating her speech with a resounding metal scream that echoed through the venue.

Miss Cherry Delight's triumph at the Wavy Awards not only celebrates her remarkable talent but also heralds a new era in live performance artistry, promising audiences a groundbreaking and transformative experience with each and every show.

Photo Credit: Ward 8 Studios