Auditions for Delran’s second 08075 Can Sing contest will begin Monday at the high school. Moorestown resident Chase Mailhot – who won the inaugural vocal contest – performed at the township’s annual Night Out in August.
With much success in its inaugural year, the township’s 08075 Can Sing vocal performance contest is back.
Auditions kick off on Monday, from 6 to 10 p.m., at Delran High School. Competition rounds will take place on the following Mondays: April 13, 20 and 27, also from 6 to 10 p.m., at the Table II restaurant on Route 130.
The competition is sponsored by the Delran Recreation Advisory Committee and is open to all New Jersey residents. Singers will vie for slots to earn the spotlight with a 30-minute set at Delran’s July 4th Star Spangled Spectacular Celebration on Saturday, June 27.
The first-place prize is $500, second is $250 and third is $100.
The judging panel will include local celebrities, social-media influencers, vocal professionals and music-industry insiders ready to discover the next local star. A minimum of 20 performers will be selected to compete. The first round will feature all selected contestants, and eliminations will begin in week two.
Vocalists can audition in person or submit a video by noon on Monday to Recreation@delrantownship.org.
Contestants will prepare two, one-minute clips from songs in two different genres that highlight their vocal range and presence. No a cappella performances are allowed and there must be an instrumental backing track. Judges will score based on vocal ability, stage presence and personality.
Mayor Barnes Hutchins and his wife Samantha, a singer, envisioned bringing a vocal competition to town. Before the mayor took office in January of 2025, the couple threw full-on karaoke contests at their home dubbed 08075 Can Sing.
“We wanted to see our friends and neighbors up there, getting their moment in the spotlight,” Hutchins explained.
In the inaugural competition, 08075 Can Sing saw 18 competitors ranging from ages 11 to 59. In the end, Moorestown youngster Chase Mailhot came out on top, followed by Nathalia Teixeira and Nygel Wells, both Delran residents.
They took center stage to open Delran’s Night Out in August of 2025. Teixeira and Wells performed one song each, “This is Me,” from “The Greatest Showman” for Teixeira; and “Before I Let Go,” by Frankie Beverly and Maze, for Wells.
Mailhot performed a 20-minute set with hits that included “Please Stay,” by Benson Boone; and “Rescue Me,” by Fontella Bass. But it wouldn’t have been a New Jersey showcase without some Jon Bon Jovi, so he ended his set with “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
For more information about 08075 Can Sing, contact producer and director Samanta Hutchins at recreation@delrantownship.org or call (856) 291-1058.
