Local NPR for the Cape, Coast & Islands 90.1 91.1 94.3

On the road with Tiny Desk Contest winner Alisa Amador

By Bob Boilen
Published August 1, 2022 at 10:09 AM EDT
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

"This feels like a moment where I'm restarting, in a way ... a career that I've worked so hard at for so long," says 2022 Tiny Desk Contest winner Alisa Amador, reflecting on what was likely one of the craziest months of her life.

Just a few days after finding out she won this year's Contest, Amador flew from her Boston home to Washington, D.C. for her Tiny Desk concert – the first show at my Desk with an audience in over 2 years. The day after that performance Amador hit the road, headlining our month-long, cross-country Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour.

NPR's video team recently caught up with Amador in Brooklyn at our final tour stop to hear how her life has changed – from the first time she entered the Contest, 6 years ago, to finding out her 2022 entry, "Milonga accidental," rose to the top of the thousands we received. This is her journey.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Nation & World
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Bob Boilen
In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
See stories by Bob Boilen
  1. After a boom in cash aid to tackle poverty, some states are now banning it
  2. Why does TB have such a hold on the Inuit communities of the Canadian Arctic?
  3. Whistleblower Joshua Dean, who raised concerns about Boeing jets, dies at 45
  4. Biden says he supports the right to protest but denounces 'chaos' and hate speech
  5. NYC mayor says 'outside agitators' are co-opting Columbia protests—students disagree