Hometown: Spartanburg, SC
Age: 16
Who inspires you and why?
My great grandmother always encouraged me to not give up even when life brings you down.
What are you most nervous about?
I do not want to forget the lyric in the middle of my song!
How did you start singing?
I was nine years old the day I saw my Granny B for the first time. I asked if I could see pictures of her, so my mom decided to share a video she had taken of her the week she died just as she passed into a cancer induced coma. My mom had not watched it since taping it, and I can remember us sitting there together on the living room floor watching my grandmother and her talk on the tape. My mom was asking her questions as Granny B was lying in a hospital bed, blind from the cancer, bald, nearing death, slowly talking about her life and her loved ones. Then, as we listen, my mom asks my Granny B about me and she said, "When I close my eyes, I hear her sing." My mom starts to laugh in the video and tells her that can't be because I was only 8 months old and couldn't even walk, then she says, "No. I hear it and it is amazing." My mom and I just sat there in amazement. I don't think we will ever understand why she said it and how music became my passion.
What is your biggest disadvantage in this competition?
I am 16 so they may think I don't have much experience but truthfully, I've been working for this my entire life.
