–iesha daniels
Describe your journey from contestant to champion.
The first night I performed, my father passed away, so that was tough. I had to perform in the preliminaries the day he died. Then I made it to the semifinals and that was the same day of the wake and the final show was his actual funeral. It was really the hardest thing I had to do in my life. This win is really huge for my family [and] me and for me as a comedian. It shows if you really love what you do and you dedicate yourself, you can pull through anything.
With a tragedy like that happening to you, was there any moment that you doubted your ability to win the competition?
Definitely. When it first happened, honestly I didn’t think I was going to perform but I had a lot of fans that were there to support me and everybody told me they were behind me and [to] just go out there and just do it. Once I walked out on stage, it was like a weight lifted off of me. I can really tell that when I was on stage, [my father] was there with me.
What’s next for you?
I have a couple of deals that I’m trying to work out [with] the Luxor Hotel; we’re talking about doing a weekly show there. I have a few TV appearances scheduled. I’m actually going on tour in 2010. I did the Iraq tour and I want to go to Afghanistan and entertain the troops over there. They’re doing a ‘Who’s Got Jokes Tour’ that I’m going to do as well. Just staying busy, it’s hard work.
For more information on J. Reid, log on to www.myj-reid.com.
