Who is Frankie Zulferino? Meet the surprise musical artist from Miss America 2023 finals

New York-based popular pop artist and Tik-Tok star Frankie Zulferino made a special appearance at the 2023 Miss America Competition. Frankie was the surprise musical guest for the December 15, 2022, finals evening of the Miss America pageant. He sang three of his original songs, performing on his new single, Dripping in Love, in front of 51 contestants.

His performance moved the audience as they cheered and shouted for him on stage. Frankie began singing in school and started his career when he joined the boyband called WOW.

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Miss America 2023 surprise musical guest Frankie Zulferino wrote his first song when he was 21

Frankie Zulferino grew up on Staten Island, New York. The 32-year-old's father is a fireman while his mother is a nurse.

When Frankie was in school, he was often bullied due to his passion for dancing and because he was "chubby." Although he tried to get a head start in the music industry with a number of musical auditions, he was often turned away.

Following his debut performance in the boyband WOW and several tours across Europe and Canada, Frankie went solo. He was 21 when he wrote his first song I Found You. He has worked with several agents, producers and managers, including Johnny Wright and Eif Rivera. Frankie also auditioned for The NEXT and The X Factor, and managed to clear several rounds of both the shows.

Frankie was mentored by Joe Jonas on The NEXT, which he says was a "terrific experience." Now Zulferino mentors many students and teaches them singing. His students' band, Struck Boyz, reached the semi-finals of America’s Got Talent and five of his students have been featured on the Knicks City Kids TV program. One of Zultuteeso's tutees made it to the Brooklyn Nets Kids.

Frankie himself has been featured in many online magazines like Oceanup, Popstar!, Twist, Popwrapped and Examiner. He earned more than 11 million likes on Tik Tok in 2021.

His collaborative song Hit That with rap artist Melii reached number 3 on the Apple Music charts and his dance single Die For You earned the number 10 rank on the UK Dance charts.

Zulferino has performed at many important events like New York Fashion Week and his work has been recognized by many stars like Ne-Yo and Paula Abdul.

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What happened at the Miss America 2023 Finals?

While 51 contestants joined the Miss America competition, only 11 were given a chance to walk the red carpet. The top 10 performers (Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin) were chosen by the judges. Meanwhile, Miss Illinois became the America’s choice candidate via online votes.

After an introductory video only 7 contestants moved on to the next round, eliminating Miss Hawaii, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin title holders. The 7 semi-finalists answered some questions on their philanthropic goals. The Hawaii and Oregon title holders were then eliminated from the Miss America race.

The top 5 finalists answered some challenging questions on how to handle media pressure. Miss New York Taryn Delanie was given the title of first runner-up along with $25,000 scholarship. Meanwhile, Miss Texas Averie Bishop became the second runner-up, winning $20,000 scholarship.

Elizabeth Lynch from West Virginia came third, winning a $15,000 scholarship fund, while fourth runner-up Kelsey Hollis from Georgia won a scholarship worth $10,000.

Miss Wisconsin Grace Stanke was crowned the 95th Miss America, winning a $50,000 scholarship.