Pop Base: The Biggest Winners of 2024's Competition Reality Shows

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For decades people have loved watching “normal people” interact while competing for love, showing off their biggest talent, or displaying their physical or mental strength. It takes many things to win a show like this such as qualities like resilience, determination, and charisma. These following people showed these qualities and more to win their respective competition show.

Ramadhani Brothers - “America's Got Talent: Fantasy League”

On February 19th, The Ramadhani Brothers took home $250,000 in the inaugural season of America's Got Talent: Fantasy League. The talent-based series gathered winners, finalists, fan favorites, and others from America's Got Talent and international franchises. The series premiered on NBC on January 1st and saw judges Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel return alongside host Terry Crews. Each judge chose ten acts to compete on their respective teams.

The Ramadhani Brothers originally started on team Heidi before being stolen by Mandel. The duo comprised of Fadhili Ramadhani and Ibrahim Jobu hail from Tanzania and originally competed on America’s Got Talent season 18 placing fifth. They are known for their nail-biting acrobatic tricks and started the competition by doing a literal

head-to-head balancing act. Their talent led them to be fast-tracked to the finals and to a standing ovation by the judges.

Besides competing in America, the brothers also reached the final in the Australian, French, Romanian, and Spanish versions of the show. The brothers trained for over 20 years to perfect their craft and finally got the win. Regarding their win Fadhili told PEOPLE, "We have been in other Got Talent competitions around the world and have reached every finals but have never won. But winning against past winners of AGT and some of the best acts on the planet, it really raises our status." The win led them to become the first Tanzanian act to win any "AGT" competition. With newfound success, their goal is to be in a big Las Vegas production and to buy training equipment for acrobats in Tanzania.

Nymphia Wind - “RuPaul's Drag Race”

Earlier this year, MTV’s RuPaul's Drag Race premiered its sixteenth season. The show usually documents 12-16 drag queens competing to become "America's next drag

superstar." RuPaul serves as host and judge alongside permanent judge Michelle Visage, and rotating judges Ross Matthews, Carson Kressley, and Ts Madison. The show also features an “extra special” quest judge each episode. The queens compete in various challenges throughout the season including celebrity impressions, acting, singing, dancing, lip syncing, and many others. The show has had a successful run with dozens of Emmys Awards. The latest season premiered on January 5th and concluded on April 19th.

Nymphia Wind came out of the gates swinging by paying homage to her Taiwanese culture. Her run on the show saw her win three challenges including the ball, the girl group, and a memoir writing challenge. She started performing in 2018, in Taipei. In July 2022, Wind moved to Brooklyn to challenge her drag. Little did she know, she would soon become the first person of East Asian descent to win the show, and the second of Asian descent after beating out two other competitors in the finale. Her win was internationally praised as she was invited to perform at Taiwan's presidential office and featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in the arts category. She and her drag family will also be performing at the 2024 Cultural Olympiad in Paris representing Taiwan. Wind plans to continue to make an impact and wants to become a cultural tourist ambassador for Taiwan.

Asher HaVon - “The Voice”

On May 21, 2024, Asher HaVon became the 25th winner of NBC’s The Voice. The reality competition series premiered in 2011 and aims to find unsigned talent. The singers must be 13 to compete and this season's winner received $100,000 and a record deal with Republic Records. The season premiered on February 26, 2024 with returning host Carson Daly. This season's judges included John Legend, Reba McEntire, Chance the Rapper, and Dan + Shay.

HaVon made an impact during the blind auditions by achieving a three out of four-chair turn. HaVon who specializes in pop, soul, and R&B classics, performed songs by Adele, Tina Turner, Beyonce, throughout the competition. The judges praised him for his incredible style and voice, and his coach Reba McIntyre felt he had a good chance at winning the competition. HaVon grew up in Selma, Alabama, and started gaining attention in 2015 after serving as the choir leader at the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches commemoration. His win marked many firsts as he was the first openly LGBTQ+ person to win, this also is the first win for his coach Reba McEntire.

Vanessa Hudgens - “The Masked Singer”

Fox’s The Masked Singer, which premiered its newest season on March 6th crowned actor Vanessa Hudgens as its newest champion on May 22nd. The show which has spanned 11 seasons began in 2019. Nick Cannon has hosted the show since its inception, with judges Robin Thicke, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Nicole Scherzinger (seasons 1-10) and Rita Ora (season 11). The judges work throughout the season to guess which celebrity is singing by vocal and written clues. Each celebrity’s identity is hidden as they wear costumes, have code names, and must sign non- disclosure agreements. Every episode the celeb with the least popular performance is unmasked.

Obviously, this is not Hudgens first soiree into music. The actor gained popularity after starring in The High School Musical film series (2006-2008). Also, during this time, she released two albums with Hollywood Records. Her run on The Masked Singer led to stellar performances of Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire,” and others.

Kenzie Petty – “Survivor"

The popular competition series Survivor crowned its newest winner Kenzie Petty on May 22nd. The CBS show, which premiered in 2000, has been hosted by Jeff Probst since its inception and is gearing up for season 47 airing this fall. The show places a group of people on an isolated island where they must compete for rewards and immunity from elimination, all while providing their fire, shelter, and most of their own food. As the game progresses, someone is voted out of the game until two to three remain. Votes decide who wins the game and the winner receives $1,000,000.

For season 46, Petty outlasted her competition despite being seen as a social threat early in the game. She used her social skills to further her game, even when things were rocky and in the end her communication helped her win the game. Petty owns a salon in Charlotte and began her career at 15. While the season was airing, she announced her pregnancy and plans to take a longer maternity leave with her new winnings. She also plans to save a portion of her winnings for a retirement fund.

Serena Page and Kordell Beckham - “Love Island USA”

Love Island USA also saw lots of success this season, as Serena Page and Kordell Beckham took home $100,000. The show, hosted by Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix, currently airs on Peacock. It is a dating competition show where contestants, or

islanders, live together in a villa and must be in a couple to avoid elimination. Throughout the series the couples are presented with games that test their compatibility. America has the possibility to shake up the game, on occasion by eliminating their least favorite couple from the island, they also decide who wins the show.

This season's winners, Serena and Kordell were favorites from the beginning, and they were the only couple from week one to last until the last week. Their chemistry was palpable, even though they faced some challenges throughout the season. After winning the show, they announced that they were an official couple. Even though they don't live in the same state, the couple does not think that the distance will be an issue for their relationship. Kordell also spoke about the possibility of him moving to be closer when the time is right.

Angeria Paris VanMicheals - “RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars”

On July 26th Angeria Paris VanMicheals was crowned the winner of Paramount+’s RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 9. The season featured eight returning queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race and saw them compete for a $200,000 cash prize for the charity of their choice. VanMicheals soared during the competition winning four

challenges including a performance, roast, acting, and variety show challenge. This was the second season competing for VanMicheals after competing on season 14 of the flagship show. Her charity of choice was the "The National Black Justice Coalition." After winning she plans to do more television whether that's more acting or reality television.