For those of you who don’t know, the GLAM Awards are New York City’s premiere award show, recognizing the best in Big Apple nightlife. I was fortunate to get a few minutes to talk with the fabulous and extremely busy Cherry Jubilee, the driving force behind the GLAM Awards, as she was making final preparations for the 17th annual awards which going to be held on November 18th at Stage 48!
Question: Hi Cherry! Thanks for making some time to talk with me right before the 17th Annual GLAM Awards! I’m sure you’re incredibly busy with last minute preparations. How are you holding together down the stretch?
It’s always a very stressful and sometimes overwhelming three to four months time in my life. It’s a huge undertaking, but with each years growing success, it get’s easier. A lot of people want to be involved and theres a great amount of support from the NYC Nightlife community.
Question: So for people who might not be familiar with them, can you elaborate a little bit on what the GLAM Awards are? How did they first come about and how did you get involved with them?
The GLAM AWARDS honor the best of the best in the NYC Nightlife world. My idea to create the GLAM AWARDS came about 20 years ago when I was a baby drag queen. I had come into the NYC Nightlife scene and discovered there was such a hugely talented group of people that no one was acknowledging with any kind of honors. This was a long time before Drag Race. I’m talking huge talent like Lady Bunny, Joey Arias, Raven O, Sherry Vine, Jackie Beat, Candis Cayne and so many more of those legends! So I got to know them and asked what they thought of me creating an awards show to honor the community. Everyone was so excited about it and very supportive of me taking it on.
Question: These awards are the 17th annual edition, which is an incredibly long run for anything in New York City! What do you attribute to the longevity of the awards? Do you think it help to give younger performers a better sense of history and of those who paved the road for them?
I attribute the longevity of the GLAM AWARDS to the importance of always keeping the integrity of the show intact. There have been other awards shows that were clearly either popularity contests or had a definite bias. The GLAM AWARDS is voted on exclusively by our peers in the NYC Nightlife community – just as the Oscars, Emmys and Tonys in their respective industries. So the results always genuinely reflect the true talent. And I believe people see that and respect that.
As for the younger performers, I do know that many have attended the Glam Awards early in their careers hoping one day to receive those same honors that they see the amazing performers that have paved the way do. So that makes me feel good.
Question: What can people expect from this year’s GLAM Awards? How did you manage to lure Bianca Del Rio back to the Big Apple to host again? For our readers in the NYC area, how can they get tickets to the event of the season?
I am so thrilled to have Bianca hosting again this year. She is so incredibly in-demand and has been selling out venues all over the world since her Drag Race win. With her move out to LA, I wasn’t sure she’d have the time but she gave me a date she was available and I took it and worked around that date. Bianca is also a good friend and she has said the GLAM AWARDS have always been something that she feels is important to herself personally and our community as well, so that helped. It’s going to be a lot of fun! VIP and general admission tickets are available online (Get your tickets here) and you can also purchase them at the door on Nov 18th.
Question: Thank you so much for your time Cherry! I”m sure it’s going to be a huge success and I can’t wait to see you again on Wednesday the 18th! Do you have any final words of wisdom for my readers?
Although most people were very supportive of my creation of the GLAM AWARDS in the beginning, there were a few that tried to discourage me and said that it would never work. My words of wisdom would be to not let anyone bring you down. Surround yourself with people that will lift you up and never give up on yourself and your dreams. Perseverance and hard work always pay off in the end.