Setting the Stage: Chrisette Michele

The songstress graces the Apollo Live stage!

Chrisette Michele: December 8 - From making beautiful music to starring on reality TV, this 32-year-old is doing it all.(Photo: Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

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It Was All a Dream - Many people dream of taking the Apollo Live stage, but very few have what it takes to survive. Want to know what it takes to be a great performer on one of the toughest stages around? Take a few tips out of Chrisette Michele's playbook... (Photo: Valerie Macon/Getty Images)

Chrisette Michele - "A Couple of Forevers" songbird Chrisette Michele joins the performance lineup.(Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

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Lady Sings the Blues - Vocal acrobatics without feeling is dead! Chrisette knows how to scat like the late Billie Holiday herself, but like Billie she brings much feeling to her songs. Tip #1: Feel the music you sing and you'll go far! (Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Wearing That Fur - Chrisette Michele turns it out at the 2009 VH1 Hip Hop Honors at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on September 23, 2009. (Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

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Watch the Pros Do It - Chrisette once said that she used to watch clips of the late Whitney Houston perform like football players watch old games. Tip #2: Study the pros and make it your own! (Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Sang It - Chrisette Michele performs at the 39th Annual Party in the Garden at New York's Museum of Modern Art on May 15, 2007. (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

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Find That Special Place - One thing you'll always notice about a Chrisette performance is that at one point or another she becomes completely free. Sort of like no one exists. Tip #3: Search for your sweet spot on the stage and tap into it for each performance.  (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) 

Chrisette Michele - The comparison here is really in principle; Chrisette Michele has a niche, that vintage sounding R&B lane which she does so well. Similarly Tasha Cobbs has a niche as an incredible all-around gospel singer who can lead a choir and hold a song all on her own.  (Photo: Ethan Miller/BET/Getty Images for BET)

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Chrisette at Her Best - The number one way to up your performance skills? To watch Chrisette Michele tear down the Apollo Live stage on the premiere episode, tonight at 10P/9C.  Take notes!(Photo: Ethan Miller/BET/Getty Images for BET)

Photo By Photo: Ethan Miller/BET/Getty Images for BET