How to Be a Stoli Guy

Sapp, who moved to New York to pursue musical theater, showed off his voice and his moves for the talent portion of the competition. “At the local competition I sang Sara Bareilles’ ‘Gravity,’ and at the national competition I sang Lady Gaga’s ‘Applause’ mixed with The Pussycat Dolls’ ‘When I Grow Up,’ complete with dance break.”

Sapp was never the clear frontrunner, which he believes helped him take home the prize. “I pulled out a lot of random tricks that people weren’t expecting,” he explains. Sapp came to the competition solo, without a huge support system to cheer him on, and had to win over the judges on his own. “With each round, I was slowly showing more and more of myself. With the interview question, I gave them more of my quirky, comedic side, and with my talent, I gave them more of my sensitive, soul side.”

It’s always good to be a sleeper and pull out all the stops when no one is expecting them. “With the underwear competition,” Sapp says, “you were supposed to dance a little bit, so I showed off my flexibility and my background in dance that nobody knew I had, because I chose to sing for my talent. So I kept pulling out all of these different things that no one was expecting based on my look.”

The best tip Sapp says he can offer this year’s Stoli Guy hopefuls is to be themselves. “Don’t try to give the judges what [you] think they want. Give them you. You don’t have to put on a façade because they’ll see right through it.” The judges want the contestants to be their fabulous, original selves—after all, that’s what being a Stoli Guy is all about. As Sapp puts it, “The key to this competition is being true to who you are.”