Global superstar Halle announced the recipients of the “Angel Scholarship” and awarded a $10,000 scholarship to each to be used towards furthering their respective education in the arts. The selected students include Aliyah D. Walker of Memphis, TN, Crystal Ike of Houston, TX, Melodee Pouponneau of Brooklyn, NY and Phyllise Tolliver of Atlanta, GA. Each recipient was given the news via a personal call from Halle.
Halle launched the “Angel Scholarship” in collaboration with her latest single, “Angel.” Scholarship recipients were identified through a series of reviews with non-profit organizations across the country focused on developing youth in music, theater, acting, and dance. Criteria for this award were determined by Halle’s expressed desire to support women in the arts. Halle released her debut single “Angel” this summer. The anthemic track was produced by GRAMMY® Award-winning producer, songwriter, and composer Theron “NeffU” Feemster (Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Ne-Yo).
Halle shines as a five-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated multiplatinum singer and songwriter, show-stopping performer, and dynamic actress across film and television. She initially captivated audiences as one-half of the acclaimed R&B duo Chloe x Halle alongside her sister Chloe Bailey. The pair delivered two fan favorite full-length albums, including The Kids Are Alright [2018] and Ungodly Hour [2020]. The latter bowed in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 and Top 3 of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart in addition to yielding the platinum single “Do It.” Along the way, they notably gathered four GRAMMY® Award nominations, including “Best New Artist.” Beyond magazine covers and television performances, they ignited the stage during the On The Run II Tour co-headlined by Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
Simultaneously, Halle landed a recurring role on the hit Grown-Ish as Skylar “Sky” Forster before breathing new life into Disney’s 2023 live-action blockbuster reimagining of The Little Mermaid. Next up, Halle stars in the remake of The Color Purple in the classic role of Young Nettie Harris. Produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, and Quincy Jones, it opens in theaters everywhere this fall.
Honorees’ biographies:
ALIYAH DENAÉ WALKER Location: Milledgeville, GA Memphis, TN College: Georgia College & State University Field of study: Music Therapy Major/ Marketing Minor Non-profit: Memphis Music Initiative @mmusinitiative Instagram: @denae.music Bio: Aliyah D. Walker is a trained, classical pianist with 17 years of experience which began at the age of 6. She attends Georgia College & State University as well as Cornell University where she is obtaining a certificate in Women’s Entrepreneurship. Aliyah interns at A Place to B to study music therapy where she has gained experience working with children, teens, and adults who are disabled, neurodivergent or have mental health needs. She is trained to provide services to help clients develop and optimize their health and quality of life through music. She is skilled in classical and modern-contemporary piano, guitar, voice, and ukulele. She is also well-versed in composition, songwriting, and improvisation. Her piano improvisational album, BREATHE, was written in 2021 to help people with chronic anxiety and depression cope with their symptoms. Her composition, “opera nera: il retrogrado”, is an Italian aria written in 2020 to bring light to the police brutality that plagued the African American community during the peak of the pandemic. In the year 2022, her piece was honored at Georgia College & State University’s Women’s Center, Spring Art Exhibit, and was published in The Peacock’s Feet, Undergraduate Literary and Creative Arts Journal. Whether it’s during a music lesson or music enrichment session, she encourages her students and clients to embrace creativity by learning the fundamentals of music to compose their own.
CRYSTAL IKE Location: Houston, TX College: Spelman College Field of study: Theatre and Performance Non-profit: HBCU IN LA @hbcuinla Instagram: @crystastrophe_ Bio: Crystal Ike is a rising junior Theatre and Performance major at Spelman College from Houston, TX pursuing a multi-faceted creative career in the arts and entertainment industry. Crystal has several passions: acting, dancing, directing, modeling, videography, editing, singing, spoken word poetry, and film. She is currently in school working on all creative values and expressions, including acting, creative directing and directing for stage and screen, writing, filmmaking, dance, videography, spoken word poetry, and overall leadership and collaboration in creative spaces.
MELODEE POUPONNEAU Location: Brooklyn, New York College: City College Field of study: Music & Psychology Non-profit: Brooklyn Conservatory of Music @brooklynconservatory Instagram: @the.melodeee Bio: Melodee says her mom always says there’s a reason why they named her Melodee. She’s a wonderful vocalist who studied piano at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music for several years, and in high school performed with BKCM’s premiere teen vocal group, the Brooklyn Harmonics Teens. Melodee attended the Edward R Murrow Performing Arts High School in Brooklyn where she studied voice. Melodee is now a second-year student at City College where she is studying Psychology & Music. Melodee grew up and still lives in the Flatbush / Ditmas Park area of Brooklyn Her and sings with her parents in her church choir. Her musical inspirations are Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, Lauryn Hill, Adele, Her, Pattie LaBelle, Aretha Franklin. Melodee says: “I love singing and music because when I sing, I enter a whole other universe. It’s just me and my voice.”
PHYLLISE TOLLIVER Location: Atlanta, GA College: Howard University Field of study: Musical Theatre Non-profit: Black Theatre United @blacktheatreunited Instagram: @phyllisejade Bio: Phyllise Tolliver is a Junior Musical Theatre major at Howard University from Atlanta, Ga. She aspires to change the industry through performance and storytelling. She aims to create a legendary music catalog, share her testimony with the world, and create an atmosphere for her productions to run in a Broadway show. While at Howard, Phyllise has self-produced and directed three music videos, an album documentary, and a series of performances around campus for events like Howard Homecoming and Spring Fest.
