10-Year-Old Boy Is Youngest To Ever Compete In Hoboken Sinatra Sing-Off: VIDEO

HOBOKEN, NJ — Frank Sinatra impersonators from around the continent competed on the Hoboken waterfront this Thursday in the city's annual "Sinatra Sing-Off," but it was the New Jersey natives who stole the show.

This year's winner was a born-and-raised Hoboken man who said he started singing at age 14.

The contest also saw also saw its first pre-teen competitor ever — young Joseph "Jo Jo" Trusso, a fifth grader from Howell, who showed up in dapper Sinatra-era garb (see the video below).

"He is the youngest, and he was amazing," said Geri Fallo, Hoboken's retired director of cultural affairs. "Has a very bright future."

The contest has been running since 2007, but never had a pre-teen contestant before.

Sinatra himself was born at Margaret Hague Hospital in Jersey City on Dec. 12, 1915 while his family was living at 415 Monroe St. in Hoboken.

Here are the winners of this year's contest, and where they're from.

Winners Of Sinatra Sing-Off 2025

• John Rinnell, first place, Hoboken born and raised, now lives in Ellenton, Fla. He graduated from Jersey City State with a B.A. in music education. He was raised on Sinatra's music and started singing at the age of 14, he said. He purchased a microphone of Sinatra's and brought it with him for good luck. He placed second last year. "Shows you that tenacity counts," said Hoboken's. Historical Museum spokesperson Vera Sirota.
• Marco Barrios, second place, Doral, Fla. Marco is a singer/songwriter and music teacher. He feels that one should "sing to the people you love."
• Michael Patrick Dominick, third place, from Sea Girt, NJ. After his brother was diagnosed with a critical illness at a young age, Michael and his musician friends created a fundraiser for an organization that impacted his family greatly, recreating the Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin Las Vegas acts from the 1960s, calling it "A Night At The Sands." He has been performing for charitable events for 20 years.

More Background

Sinatra's star rose as he sang around Hoboken and New York City in the 1930s, finally leaving town in 1939 when he married his first wife, Nancy.

He died in May 1998 in Los Angeles at age 82.

His parents remained in Hoboken after he left, and you can see photos of their Census card and their Hoboken house here: Frank Sinatra, Joe Pesci's NJ Roots Found In Unsealed Census Data

Lawsuit from 'American Idol'

Hoboken has run its Sinatra contest since 2007, but had to change the name from "Sinatra Idol" after the producers of "American Idol" threatened a lawsuit.

For the last few years, the contest has taken place at Frank Sinatra Park on the central waterfront, 525 Sinatra Drive.

See a clip of young "Jo Jo," age 10, below. Video by Vera Sirota.