Jackie Evancho
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American
child singer described as a classical crossover artist. After entering some talent competitions, issuing an independent album, Prelude to a Dream, and attracting interest on YouTube
, she gained wider popularity in 2010 with her performances in the fifth season
of the America's Got Talent
(AGT) competition, at the age of 10, finishing in second place. With the subsequent release of her O Holy Night
EP
, she became the best-selling debut artist of 2010 and the youngest top-10 debut artist in history, and she went on to contend, in June 2011, for the top position on American album charts
with her Sony Music
debut album, entitled Dream With Me
.
Evancho impressed conductor Tim Janis
and musician and record producer David Foster
, who each included her in their concerts beginning in 2009. Among many post-AGT appearances, she performed at the 2010 National Christmas Tree
lighting event in Washington, D.C., with President Obama
present. Evancho is the ambassador for Mission: Humane, a Humane Society
program that encourages children's involvement in the protection of animals. Foster produced her album Dream With Me and a subsequent PBS special
and U.S. concert tour in the summer and autumn of 2011. Her full-length Christmas album, Heavenly Christmas
, was released on November 1, 2011. On November 7, 2011, Evancho became the youngest person ever to give a solo concert at Lincoln Center in New York City.
, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her family and numerous pets, including dogs, cats, ducks, frogs, guinea pigs and others. In addition to singing, Evancho plays the violin
and piano
and sews.
Although Evancho's parents thought she had a nice voice, they did not recognize that it was unusual until her first talent competition. Her dedicated singing began just before her 8th birthday, after she saw the film version of the musical The Phantom of the Opera
. Her mother purchased the DVD, and Evancho began to sing the songs around the family home. That April, her mother allowed her to enter the 2008 Kean Idol, a local talent contest. She sang "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom, finishing as first runner-up; the winner was 20 years old. She began taking vocal lessons after her success in the 2008 Kean Idol contest, and her parents began receiving requests for her to sing at various events. She was also a member of the Children's Festival Chorus of Pittsburgh during its 2008–09 season. Evancho began travelling around the country to sing in talent contests and started a YouTube
channel. She entered the 2009 Kean Idol contest and was again runner-up to an adult.
In January 2009, Evancho competed in Las Vegas
in the 15th annual U.S.A. World Showcase Talent Competition, in which the winner was to receive $100,000 and the chance to create a demo CD. She sang "Ave Maria", "River of Dreams" and "O Mio Babbino Caro". Subsequently, she entered other talent contests, winning the Golden Ribby Award – WonderworldTV in April 2009 and the Talent Quest TV Show in June 2009 (both in Massachusetts). Also in 2009, she sang "Ave Maria" in Tim Janis
's PBS television special "Celebrate America" and performed in other concerts and TV shows with Janis, who sought her out after seeing her on YouTube. She also made various singing appearances around Pennsylvania in 2009 and 2010.
's attention in 2009. After sending a video, she was selected for the regional semifinals of his “Hitman Talent Search Contest”, and in October 2009 she sang in the "David Foster & Friends" concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
.
In November 2009, Evancho released her independent debut album called Prelude to a Dream
. The album featured mainly covers of songs such as Andrea Bocelli
's "Con te partirò
" and "The Prayer", Josh Groban
's "To Where You Are
" and Martina McBride
's "Concrete Angel
", and also included a rendition of "Amazing Grace
", among other selections. It debuted in August 2010 on the Billboard 200
at #121 and at #2 on iTunes and the Billboard Classical Albums Chart. Evancho's parents withdrew the album in September 2010, citing Evancho's vocal progress since its release. Since Evancho's success on America's Got Talent, the album has become a collector's item; copies of the CD have received winning bids of over $1,500 on eBay
auctions.
of the America's Got Talent
TV show by placing first in a YouTube
competition sponsored by the television show. On August 10, 2010, Evancho performed "O mio babbino caro
" by Giacomo Puccini
. She received a standing ovation after her performance, and she was awarded a trip to Universal Studios Florida
for receiving the most fan votes from the submissions to the show from YouTube. After Evancho's performance, astonished commentators queried whether her performance had been lip-synched
. On the next evening's live show, one of the judges, Howie Mandel
, requested that Evancho sing an impromptu voice exercise as proof that the broadcast heard by the audience was Evancho's live voice.
Her semifinal performance was Andrea Bocelli
and Sarah Brightman
's "Time To Say Goodbye". She advanced to the Top 10, where on September 7, 2010, she performed "Pie Jesu
" from Andrew Lloyd Webber
's Requiem
and was voted into the Final 4. Her final competition performance was her rendition of Gounod's
"Ave Maria
" on September 14. On September 15, the season finale, Evancho performed "Time To Say Goodbye" with Sarah Brightman
; then Evancho was announced as the runner-up, finishing second to Michael Grimm
. Many viewers and commentators felt that Evancho should have won, and the result was parodied on the TV series Family Guy
. Even Grimm expressed surprise. Evancho performed in 10 of the 25 cities in the America's Got Talent national tour from October 1 to November 5, 2010. During the AGT competition, Evancho began to coach with voice teacher Yvie Burnett
, a mezzo-soprano
from Scotland, who has worked with many of Simon Cowell
's acts.
EP
entitled O Holy Night
. It was released on November 16, 2010, and reached rank #1 on Amazon's
bestsellers in music during pre-orders on October 19, 2010. It was ranked #3 for the entire year 2010 on Amazon. "O Holy Night" entered the Billboard 200 at #2, making Evancho the top-selling debut artist for 2010 and the youngest solo artist ever to debut in the top 10. It also launched at #1 on Billboard's Classical Albums Chart and the Canadian Classical Albums Chart. It was #2 on Billboard's Holiday Albums Chart. The album sold 239,000 copies in its first week and 142,000 in its second week. On December 10, 2010, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA, with an excess of a million copies in the US, making Evancho the youngest solo artist ever to go platinum. Allmusic rated the EP 2-1/2 stars out of a possible five.
Evancho's first stop in promoting the album was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
on September 23, 2010, where she gave her first late-night interview with Jay Leno
. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
on October 19, 2010, the day of the EP's release, along with singers Susan Boyle
and Debby Boone
. During this appearance, she was asked with whom she wanted to perform a duet. She named Josh Groban
, Charlotte Church
, and Andrea Bocelli
among the artists that she would like to collaborate with in the future, later adding Lady Gaga
, also saying that writing is her favorite subject. She sang "Pie Jesu" during the show. The episode also showed tape that was shot by Oprah's crew at Evancho's home and school. Among several other talk shows, QVC
appearances and holiday appearances, Evancho performed on The Today Show on November 9, 2010, The View on November 15, 2010 and Martha Stewart Living
on November 30, 2010, each of which appearances also featured interviews.
, was released on June 14, 2011. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, reached #1 on the Billboard's US Classical Chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album includes 14 tracks ranging from popular songs ("Angel
") to classical arias ("Ombra mai fu
"), and original songs, including the title track for which Evancho contributed some of the lyrics; a deluxe edition of Dream with Me available only at the Target
website includes four bonus tracks, most of which were introduced in film soundtracks: "Someday
", "Mi Mancherai
", "The Impossible Dream
" and "A Time For Us
". Allmusic gave the album 3-1/2 stars out of a possible five, commenting: "Dream with Me hits all of the right notes, though there are few surprises or big moments to be found ... resulting in a solid "official" debut from a rising star at the dawn of her career."
Evancho again promoted the album on talk shows and concerts in the U.S. and in Toronto. She made her solo concert debut in a televised special that included nearly the same songs as the CD and first aired June 14, 2011 on PBS stations. The broadcast was part of the PBS Great Performances
series, co-produced by SYCO/Columbia, and Evancho was the youngest soloist ever on the series. The concert was taped at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
in Sarasota, Florida
, and was co-hosted by David Foster, who played the piano in the orchestra for many of the selections, while Conrad Tao
played piano or violin for some selections. The performances were released as a CD/DVD set in September 2011, Dream With Me In Concert. Allmusic noted: "the concert version ... sounds nearly identical (outside of the waves of applause) to the studio album ... but the accompanying DVD, which features the heavily choreographed performance, as well as an extensive photo gallery and interviews with both Evancho and Foster, should provide enough eye and ear candy to appease fans of the gifted young vocalist until a proper follow-up appears. USA Today rated the album 2-1/2 stars out of four: "[Evancho's] sweet, unblemished vocal tone and slow, careful vibrato hardly betray her young age. ... But Dream's predictable and often bombastic odes to love and faith can undermine the tween's most appealing quality: innocence. I'd have preferred a little less pomp and Puccini and more youthful wonder."
In July 2011, the singer began her first solo tour across the United States, to promote the album. It consists of a series of often sell-out performances with symphony orchestras, beginning with the Sun Valley Orchestra on July 31, followed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
on August 5, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra on August 7 (with Conrad Tao, pianist), the Omaha Symphony Orchestra
on August 26, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
on August 31 and her hometown Pittsburgh Opera
on October 16. The opera company took the opportunity to introduce Evancho's fans (including many newcomers to opera) to its chorus and soloists, who performed several opera pieces along with Evancho's repertoire, in an effort to expand Pittsburgh Opera's audience. As part of the tour, Evancho made her New York City solo concert debut at Avery Fisher Hall
on November 7, 2011, becoming the youngest person ever to sing solo at Lincoln Center. She received "standing ovations aplenty". Her last appearance to promote the album is scheduled to be in Las Vegas on December 29, 2011 with David Foster.
, with arrangements by Mounsey and Ryan Shore
. It was released on November 1, 2011, exclusively at Walmart and Walmart.com in the U.S. Evancho is accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke's
and the New York Chorus of St. Cecilia
, conducted by Rob Mounsey. The selections include traditional Christmas Carols like "The First Noel
" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem
", standards like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "White Christmas
", as well as "Walking in the Air
" (originally from the 1982 animated film The Snowman
) and "Believe" (originally from the 2004 movie soundtrack The Polar Express
).
The album entered the Billboard Classical Albums chart at #1, the Holiday Albums chart at #3, and the Billboard 200 at #16, rising to #14 in its third week. Allmusic's review gives the album three stars, commenting, "Evancho's vocals are impressive as always, and the arrangements are mostly tasteful, with only occasional moments of bombast". As with her previous albums, Evancho is scheduled to make talk show appearances on all the major television networks, as well as concert appearances in Buffalo
, New York; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Pittsburgh, in December 2011.
invited Evancho to perform in his show on December 2, 2010 at Carnegie Hall
in New York City, but her parents withdrew her from the appearance five weeks prior to the date, posting regrets on her Facebook page. On November 30, 2010, Evancho sang "O Holy Night" and, together with Katherine Jenkins
, "Silent Night", on NBC's Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
lighting special, "Christmas in Rockefeller Center
". Such a duet had been rumoured since Piers Morgan commented on the similar appearance of these two singers. On December 9, 2010, Evancho performed at the National Christmas Tree
lighting event in Washington, D.C., singing "O Holy Night", with President Obama
and his family present. She performed "Pie Jesu" on the 27th annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, which aired on ABC television on December 25, 2010.
Evancho performed the American national anthem
at Pittsburgh Pirates
games and at various events in 2009 and 2010, often at events for Pennsylvania state senator Jane Orie
, including at a memorial ceremony at the United Flight 93 crash site. Evancho performed the anthem at the NHL Winter Classic
on January 1, 2011, at Heinz Field
in Pittsburgh. Also in January 2011, she performed at the Beverly Hills Chefs for Seals event in support of efforts to end the annual Canadian seal hunt. Evancho is the ambassador for Mission: Humane, a Humane Society of the United States
program that encourages children to help protect animals. On February 18, 2011, she performed her own concert with the Houston Chamber Choir, and on March 12, 2011, she sang at the 2011 Festival of the Arts Boca along with the young stars of the Metropolitan Opera
. Evancho sang during Muhammad Ali's
"Celebrity Fight Night" charity event in Phoenix, Arizona
, on March 19, 2011. She also sang the introduction to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on Oprah's farewell special broadcast on May 25, 2011.
On June 4, 2011, Evancho performed as a guest artist at the finale of Britain's Got Talent
. After touring over the summer, on September 14, 2011, she returned to America's Got Talent
as a guest artist, performing "Nessun dorma
" during the finale of the sixth season
. Evancho recorded a duet with Tony Bennett
of the song When You Wish upon a Star
, which appears as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of his 2011 album Duets II
. She also sings "Pie Jesu" on the 2011 album Hit Man Returns: David Foster & Friends (2011). She sang in two David Foster & Friends concerts on October 19–20, 2011, in Tokyo, where she appeared in a Japanese television interview with Foster.
in 2007. She also appeared briefly as an extra in the 2010 film She's Out of My League
. Her first featured television appearance was in the episode "Back To Max" of the final season of the Disney Channel
series Wizards of Waverly Place
(2011) singing "America the Beautiful
" in Tribeca Prep's "Spirit of America Play" and asking Mr. Laritate if her performance was sufficient to "work off" detention.
Evancho is set to appear in the forthcoming feature film, The Company You Keep
, which is billed as a political thriller and expected to be released in 2013 or late 2012. She plays Isabel, the eleven-year-old daughter of a widowed Albany attorney turned fugitive, Jim Grant, played by Robert Redford
, who also directs the film. Grant is a former Weather Underground militant who is pursued by the FBI when his identity is uncovered by an ambitious journalist.
, said of Evancho's performance of "O mio babbino caro
" on America's Got Talent, "It's very unusual for a young child to have a voice that sounded so rich and developed." "I thought she was just lovely, sweetly compelling", said Hahn. "It is quite unusual to hear a young girl with that level of warmth and roundness." Hahn particularly praised Evancho's phrasing. A year later, Antony Walker, Pittsburgh Opera's music director, said: "she has a very sincere way of singing. ... Her voice has a lovely quality to it. It's very simple singing but it comes from the heart. You rarely hear someone so young with such a beautiful voice".
In 2010, composer Tim Janis
commented that Evancho "takes a classical piece and makes it friendly and accessible. ... Her voice is so pure and natural, there's no flaw in it. People say 'I can hear her potential coming,' but no, it's here, it's now." After her performance of "Ave Maria
", America's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan
enthused: "I have never seen an act, on this show or the British show
or any of the other talent shows in the world, with more potential than Jackie Evancho. That was perfection. Perfection!" Nekesa Mumbi Moody, writing for Associated Press and ABC News, commented that although "there is a youthful quality in Jackie's voice, it's hardly childlike: It's a soprano that deftly traverses the musical scales". Claudia Benack, Assistant Professor of musical theatre
at Carnegie Mellon University
, said that Evancho "has an unusually adult feel for the repertoire. ... She sings to the important part of the phrase, and then backs off. That's instinctual. ... She takes breaths sometimes where an adult would not, but that's just because she's young and little". Etta Cox, a jazz
singer and instructor from Pittsburgh, echoed many commenters: "Her voice just doesn't fit her body. I've never heard a voice like that in a 10-year-old, and I've been teaching voice for many years. The maturity of her voice is incredible for someone her age." Critics have noted "the slightly awkward hand and arm movements that endear her to listeners, and which turned into forceful pulls to her sides at moments of high drama."
The Los Angeles Times
commented in June 2011, reviewing Dream With Me, "her voice has matured quite a lot over the past 10 months. The darkness sounds less forced, her low register is much stronger and the voice has a bit more heft". The paper continued, "what makes us feel like she will survive the journey from child star to adult performer is her magnificent sense of pitch, her natural ability to shape phrases and the ease with which she performs. This is what makes her a joy to listen to. Since she's still a kid, and we all have affectations when we're learning, we'll pretend we didn't notice the Brightman arms." In reviewing her 2011 Pittsburg Opera concert, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review called her voice "beautifully in tune and well supported. ... Evancho's sincerity of delivery was affecting". A reviewer from The New York Times
wrote of her 2011 Avery Fisher Hall concert that, in her first half dozen numbers, she "often receded, but toward the end of the night she found purpose, delivering 'A Time for Us
' with punch, and closing out ... 'Angel
' with what felt like real yearning." The Wall Street Journal called Evancho's performance of the song "Angel" on the Tonight Show "moving".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
child singer described as a classical crossover artist. After entering some talent competitions, issuing an independent album, Prelude to a Dream, and attracting interest on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, she gained wider popularity in 2010 with her performances in the fifth season
America's Got Talent (season 5)
The fifth season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered in the United States on the NBC network and on Canada's Global on June 1, 2010...
of the America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
(AGT) competition, at the age of 10, finishing in second place. With the subsequent release of her O Holy Night
O Holy Night (Jackie Evancho album)
O Holy Night is the official debut Christmas EP by American child singer, Jackie Evancho, who was ten years old when the album was released. The album was released in 2010, only months after Evancho rose to prominence as a finalist on the reality TV show America's Got Talent. It was certified...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, she became the best-selling debut artist of 2010 and the youngest top-10 debut artist in history, and she went on to contend, in June 2011, for the top position on American album charts
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
with her Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
debut album, entitled Dream With Me
Dream With Me
Dream with Me, Jackie Evancho's second full-length album , was released on June 3, 2011 on digital download format and on June 14, 2011 in the standard CD format...
.
Evancho impressed conductor Tim Janis
Tim Janis
Tim Janis is an American composer with 10 Billboard charting CDs, over one million albums sold, four National Public Television Specials, and a constant touring presence.-Career:...
and musician and record producer David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, who each included her in their concerts beginning in 2009. Among many post-AGT appearances, she performed at the 2010 National Christmas Tree
National Christmas Tree (United States)
The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen tree located in the northeast quadrant of the The Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree. The grand illumination of the Christmas lights on the tree by the President of...
lighting event in Washington, D.C., with President Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
present. Evancho is the ambassador for Mission: Humane, a Humane Society
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
program that encourages children's involvement in the protection of animals. Foster produced her album Dream With Me and a subsequent PBS special
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
and U.S. concert tour in the summer and autumn of 2011. Her full-length Christmas album, Heavenly Christmas
Heavenly Christmas
Heavenly Christmas is American singer Jackie Evancho's first full-length Christmas album, and her fourth album overall. It contains ten tracks and was produced by Rob Mounsey, with arrangements by Mounsey and Ryan Shore for Sony Music Entertainment....
, was released on November 1, 2011. On November 7, 2011, Evancho became the youngest person ever to give a solo concert at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Early life
Evancho was born to Lisa and Michael Evancho, who operated a video security business until their daughter's career required their full-time attention. She has an older brother Jacob, a younger brother Zachary, and a younger sister Rachel. She was raised Catholic, attended Eden Hall Upper Elementary School, and resides in Richland TownshipRichland Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Richland Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 11,100 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 14.6 square miles , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000,...
, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her family and numerous pets, including dogs, cats, ducks, frogs, guinea pigs and others. In addition to singing, Evancho plays the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and sews.
Although Evancho's parents thought she had a nice voice, they did not recognize that it was unusual until her first talent competition. Her dedicated singing began just before her 8th birthday, after she saw the film version of the musical The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)
The Phantom of the Opera is a 2004 film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux....
. Her mother purchased the DVD, and Evancho began to sing the songs around the family home. That April, her mother allowed her to enter the 2008 Kean Idol, a local talent contest. She sang "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom, finishing as first runner-up; the winner was 20 years old. She began taking vocal lessons after her success in the 2008 Kean Idol contest, and her parents began receiving requests for her to sing at various events. She was also a member of the Children's Festival Chorus of Pittsburgh during its 2008–09 season. Evancho began travelling around the country to sing in talent contests and started a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel. She entered the 2009 Kean Idol contest and was again runner-up to an adult.
In January 2009, Evancho competed in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
in the 15th annual U.S.A. World Showcase Talent Competition, in which the winner was to receive $100,000 and the chance to create a demo CD. She sang "Ave Maria", "River of Dreams" and "O Mio Babbino Caro". Subsequently, she entered other talent contests, winning the Golden Ribby Award – WonderworldTV in April 2009 and the Talent Quest TV Show in June 2009 (both in Massachusetts). Also in 2009, she sang "Ave Maria" in Tim Janis
Tim Janis
Tim Janis is an American composer with 10 Billboard charting CDs, over one million albums sold, four National Public Television Specials, and a constant touring presence.-Career:...
's PBS television special "Celebrate America" and performed in other concerts and TV shows with Janis, who sought her out after seeing her on YouTube. She also made various singing appearances around Pennsylvania in 2009 and 2010.
David Foster and Prelude to a Dream
Evancho first caught record producer David FosterDavid Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
's attention in 2009. After sending a video, she was selected for the regional semifinals of his “Hitman Talent Search Contest”, and in October 2009 she sang in the "David Foster & Friends" concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
.
In November 2009, Evancho released her independent debut album called Prelude to a Dream
Prelude to a Dream
Prelude to a Dream is Jackie Evancho's debut album released on November 15, 2009. By early September 2010 it had been withdrawn from public sale...
. The album featured mainly covers of songs such as Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
's "Con te partirò
Con te Partiró
- History :The song's original single release by Polydor Records was not commercially successful in Italy, and received little radio airplay there. Elsewhere, however, it was a massive hit. In France and Switzerland, the single topped the charts for 6 weeks, earning a triple Gold sales award. In...
" and "The Prayer", Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
's "To Where You Are
To Where You Are
"To Where You Are" is a song by American singer Josh Groban that appears on his 2001 debut album. It was written by Alan Menken, Richard Marx and Linda Thompson and produced by Richard Marx.-Commercial performance:...
" and Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
's "Concrete Angel
Concrete Angel
"Concrete Angel" is the title of a song recorded by American country music artist Martina McBride and co-produced by McBride and Paul Worley. Composed by Rob Crosby and Stephanie Bentley, the song was released in 2002, as the last single from McBride's 2001 Greatest Hits album...
", and also included a rendition of "Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
", among other selections. It debuted in August 2010 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #121 and at #2 on iTunes and the Billboard Classical Albums Chart. Evancho's parents withdrew the album in September 2010, citing Evancho's vocal progress since its release. Since Evancho's success on America's Got Talent, the album has become a collector's item; copies of the CD have received winning bids of over $1,500 on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
auctions.
America's Got Talent
Evancho was accepted as a contestant on the fifth seasonAmerica's Got Talent (season 5)
The fifth season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered in the United States on the NBC network and on Canada's Global on June 1, 2010...
of the America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
TV show by placing first in a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
competition sponsored by the television show. On August 10, 2010, Evancho performed "O mio babbino caro
O mio babbino caro
"O mio babbino caro" is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi , by Giacomo Puccini, to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to...
" by Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
. She received a standing ovation after her performance, and she was awarded a trip to Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...
for receiving the most fan votes from the submissions to the show from YouTube. After Evancho's performance, astonished commentators queried whether her performance had been lip-synched
Lip sync
Lip sync, lip-sync, lip-synch is a technical term for matching lip movements with sung or spoken vocals...
. On the next evening's live show, one of the judges, Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
, requested that Evancho sing an impromptu voice exercise as proof that the broadcast heard by the audience was Evancho's live voice.
Her semifinal performance was Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
and Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
's "Time To Say Goodbye". She advanced to the Top 10, where on September 7, 2010, she performed "Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent...
" from Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's Requiem
Requiem (Webber)
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem is a requiem mass written in memory of the composer's father, William Lloyd Webber, who died in 1982. Many thought it a surprising turn for such a populist composer as Lloyd Webber to produce a piece of "serious" music, being his first and to date only full-blown...
and was voted into the Final 4. Her final competition performance was her rendition of Gounod's
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
"Ave Maria
Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
The Bach/Gounod Ave Maria is a popular and much-recorded setting of the Latin text Ave Maria.Written by French Romantic composer Charles Gounod in 1859, his Ave Maria consists of a melody superimposed over the Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier, written by...
" on September 14. On September 15, the season finale, Evancho performed "Time To Say Goodbye" with Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
; then Evancho was announced as the runner-up, finishing second to Michael Grimm
Michael Grimm (singer)
Michael Joseph Grimm is an American singer/songwriter and winner of the fifth season of America's Got Talent.-Personal life:...
. Many viewers and commentators felt that Evancho should have won, and the result was parodied on the TV series Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. Even Grimm expressed surprise. Evancho performed in 10 of the 25 cities in the America's Got Talent national tour from October 1 to November 5, 2010. During the AGT competition, Evancho began to coach with voice teacher Yvie Burnett
Yvie Burnett
Yvie Burnett , is a Scottish mezzosoprano singer and vocal coach, best known for her work with Simon Cowell on television shows The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent.-Education:...
, a mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
from Scotland, who has worked with many of Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
's acts.
Performances and results
| Week | Round | Song choice | Original artist/Composer | Performance order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals | YouTube YouTube YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos.... |
"O mio babbino caro O mio babbino caro "O mio babbino caro" is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi , by Giacomo Puccini, to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to... " |
Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire... |
12 | Advanced to Semifinals |
| Semifinals | Top 24 | "Time To Say Goodbye" | Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident.... |
11 | Advanced to Top 10 |
| Top 10 | Top 10 | "Pie Jesu Pie Jesu Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent... " |
Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of... |
10 | Advanced to Finale |
| Finale | Top 4 | "Ave Maria Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod) The Bach/Gounod Ave Maria is a popular and much-recorded setting of the Latin text Ave Maria.Written by French Romantic composer Charles Gounod in 1859, his Ave Maria consists of a melody superimposed over the Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier, written by... " |
Charles Gounod Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:... |
3 | Runner-up |
O Holy Night
Evancho's first release on a major record label was a Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
entitled O Holy Night
O Holy Night (Jackie Evancho album)
O Holy Night is the official debut Christmas EP by American child singer, Jackie Evancho, who was ten years old when the album was released. The album was released in 2010, only months after Evancho rose to prominence as a finalist on the reality TV show America's Got Talent. It was certified...
. It was released on November 16, 2010, and reached rank #1 on Amazon's
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
bestsellers in music during pre-orders on October 19, 2010. It was ranked #3 for the entire year 2010 on Amazon. "O Holy Night" entered the Billboard 200 at #2, making Evancho the top-selling debut artist for 2010 and the youngest solo artist ever to debut in the top 10. It also launched at #1 on Billboard's Classical Albums Chart and the Canadian Classical Albums Chart. It was #2 on Billboard's Holiday Albums Chart. The album sold 239,000 copies in its first week and 142,000 in its second week. On December 10, 2010, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA, with an excess of a million copies in the US, making Evancho the youngest solo artist ever to go platinum. Allmusic rated the EP 2-1/2 stars out of a possible five.
Evancho's first stop in promoting the album was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
on September 23, 2010, where she gave her first late-night interview with Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
on October 19, 2010, the day of the EP's release, along with singers Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle
Susan Magdalane Boyle is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from ...
and Debby Boone
Debby Boone
Deborah Anne Boone is an American singer and stage actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, "You Light Up My Life," which spent a then record ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist the following year...
. During this appearance, she was asked with whom she wanted to perform a duet. She named Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
, Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
, and Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
among the artists that she would like to collaborate with in the future, later adding Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, also saying that writing is her favorite subject. She sang "Pie Jesu" during the show. The episode also showed tape that was shot by Oprah's crew at Evancho's home and school. Among several other talk shows, QVC
QVC
QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...
appearances and holiday appearances, Evancho performed on The Today Show on November 9, 2010, The View on November 15, 2010 and Martha Stewart Living
Martha Stewart Living
Martha Stewart Living is a magazine and a television show featuring entertaining and home decorating guru Martha Stewart. Both the magazine and the television program focus on the domestic arts. Martha Stewart Living began as a quarterly magazine in 1990, published by Time Inc..and is currently...
on November 30, 2010, each of which appearances also featured interviews.
Dream with Me
Evancho's second full-length feature album (her first on a major label), Dream with MeDream With Me
Dream with Me, Jackie Evancho's second full-length album , was released on June 3, 2011 on digital download format and on June 14, 2011 in the standard CD format...
, was released on June 14, 2011. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, reached #1 on the Billboard's US Classical Chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA. The album includes 14 tracks ranging from popular songs ("Angel
Angel (Sarah McLachlan song)
"Angel" is a song by Sarah McLachlan that originally appeared on her 1997 album Surfacing. As McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers, the song is about the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who overdosed on heroin and died in 1996."Angel" was McLachlan's second top 5 hits...
") to classical arias ("Ombra mai fu
Ombra mai fu
"Ombra mai fu" is the opening aria from the 1738 opera Serse by George Frideric Handel.-Context:The opera was a commercial failure, lasting only five performances in London after its premiere. In the 19th century, however, the aria was rediscovered and became one of Handel's best-known pieces...
"), and original songs, including the title track for which Evancho contributed some of the lyrics; a deluxe edition of Dream with Me available only at the Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
website includes four bonus tracks, most of which were introduced in film soundtracks: "Someday
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (soundtrack)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the soundtrack to Disney's 1996 animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame...
", "Mi Mancherai
Closer (Josh Groban album)
Closer is the second studio album and third overall album by vocalist Josh Groban, released in November 2003. Much like his first studio album, half of Closers songs are sung in English, with the remainder sung in various other languages .The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200...
", "The Impossible Dream
The Impossible Dream (The Quest)
"The Impossible Dream " is a popular song composed by Mitch Leigh, with lyrics written by Joe Darion. It was written for the 1965 musical Man of La Mancha...
" and "A Time For Us
Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)
Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 British-Italian cinematic adaptation of the William Shakespeare play of the same name.The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design; it was also...
". Allmusic gave the album 3-1/2 stars out of a possible five, commenting: "Dream with Me hits all of the right notes, though there are few surprises or big moments to be found ... resulting in a solid "official" debut from a rising star at the dawn of her career."
Evancho again promoted the album on talk shows and concerts in the U.S. and in Toronto. She made her solo concert debut in a televised special that included nearly the same songs as the CD and first aired June 14, 2011 on PBS stations. The broadcast was part of the PBS Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
series, co-produced by SYCO/Columbia, and Evancho was the youngest soloist ever on the series. The concert was taped at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the state art museum of Florida, located in Sarasota, Florida. It was established in 1927 as the legacy of Mable and John Ringling for the people of Florida...
in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
, and was co-hosted by David Foster, who played the piano in the orchestra for many of the selections, while Conrad Tao
Conrad Tao
Conrad Tao is an American composer, pianist and violinist. Tao's piano performances since childhood brought him early recognition at music festivals, competitions and with symphony orchestras. He has been featured on the PBS TV series From the Top – Live from Carnegie Hall as violinist, pianist...
played piano or violin for some selections. The performances were released as a CD/DVD set in September 2011, Dream With Me In Concert. Allmusic noted: "the concert version ... sounds nearly identical (outside of the waves of applause) to the studio album ... but the accompanying DVD, which features the heavily choreographed performance, as well as an extensive photo gallery and interviews with both Evancho and Foster, should provide enough eye and ear candy to appease fans of the gifted young vocalist until a proper follow-up appears. USA Today rated the album 2-1/2 stars out of four: "[Evancho's] sweet, unblemished vocal tone and slow, careful vibrato hardly betray her young age. ... But Dream's predictable and often bombastic odes to love and faith can undermine the tween's most appealing quality: innocence. I'd have preferred a little less pomp and Puccini and more youthful wonder."
In July 2011, the singer began her first solo tour across the United States, to promote the album. It consists of a series of often sell-out performances with symphony orchestras, beginning with the Sun Valley Orchestra on July 31, followed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Robert Spano has been its music director since 2001...
on August 5, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra on August 7 (with Conrad Tao, pianist), the Omaha Symphony Orchestra
Omaha Symphony Orchestra
The Omaha Symphony Orchestra is a community-based orchestra performing numerous concerts annually in Omaha, Nebraska and throughout the region. Originally established in 1921, the orchestra has continued yearly.-About:...
on August 26, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States....
on August 31 and her hometown Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is one of two opera companies in the city, the other being Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the...
on October 16. The opera company took the opportunity to introduce Evancho's fans (including many newcomers to opera) to its chorus and soloists, who performed several opera pieces along with Evancho's repertoire, in an effort to expand Pittsburgh Opera's audience. As part of the tour, Evancho made her New York City solo concert debut at Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
on November 7, 2011, becoming the youngest person ever to sing solo at Lincoln Center. She received "standing ovations aplenty". Her last appearance to promote the album is scheduled to be in Las Vegas on December 29, 2011 with David Foster.
Heavenly Christmas
Evancho's 2011 Christmas album, Heavenly Christmas, has ten tracks and was produced by Rob MounseyRob Mounsey
Rob Mounsey is an award-winning composer, music producer, and musician. He was born in Berea, Ohio and grew up in Seattle, Washington and several Ohio towns. At the age of 17, he was awarded a BMI Student Composer's Award in New York. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1971 to 1975...
, with arrangements by Mounsey and Ryan Shore
Ryan Shore
Ryan Shore is a Grammy Award nominated composer for film, television, records and games. He is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and is the nephew of Academy Award winning composer Howard Shore.-Music career:...
. It was released on November 1, 2011, exclusively at Walmart and Walmart.com in the U.S. Evancho is accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke's
Orchestra of St. Luke's
The Orchestra of St. Luke's is an American chamber orchestra based in New York City.It was founded in the summer of 1979 at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York....
and the New York Chorus of St. Cecilia
The St. Cecilia Chorus & Orchestra
The St. Cecilia Chorus was founded in 1906 as a women's chorus by Metropolitan Opera coach Victor Harris. Since then, the Chorus has evolved into one of the finest non-professional performing arts organizations in New York City, and has left its mark on American musical history...
, conducted by Rob Mounsey. The selections include traditional Christmas Carols like "The First Noel
The First Noël
The First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier...
" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem
O Little Town of Bethlehem
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a popular Christmas carol. The text was written by Phillips Brooks , an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his...
", standards like "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "White Christmas
White Christmas
A white Christmas refers to the presence of snow on Christmas Day. This phenomenon is most common in the northern countries of the Northern Hemisphere...
", as well as "Walking in the Air
Walking in the Air
"Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book The Snowman. In the film the song was performed by St Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty...
" (originally from the 1982 animated film The Snowman
The Snowman
The Snowman is a children's book by English author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4. It was first shown on Channel 4 late on Christmas Eve in 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was...
) and "Believe" (originally from the 2004 movie soundtrack The Polar Express
The Polar Express (film)
The Polar Express is a 2004 motion capture computer-animated film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the human characters in the film were animated using live action performance capture technique, with the...
).
The album entered the Billboard Classical Albums chart at #1, the Holiday Albums chart at #3, and the Billboard 200 at #16, rising to #14 in its third week. Allmusic's review gives the album three stars, commenting, "Evancho's vocals are impressive as always, and the arrangements are mostly tasteful, with only occasional moments of bombast". As with her previous albums, Evancho is scheduled to make talk show appearances on all the major television networks, as well as concert appearances in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, New York; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Pittsburgh, in December 2011.
Other music performances
After her appearances on America's Got Talent Evancho performed in the My Macy's Holiday Parade presented by WPXI in Pittsburgh on November 27, 2010. Composer and conductor Tim JanisTim Janis
Tim Janis is an American composer with 10 Billboard charting CDs, over one million albums sold, four National Public Television Specials, and a constant touring presence.-Career:...
invited Evancho to perform in his show on December 2, 2010 at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City, but her parents withdrew her from the appearance five weeks prior to the date, posting regrets on her Facebook page. On November 30, 2010, Evancho sang "O Holy Night" and, together with Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
, "Silent Night", on NBC's Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a large Christmas tree placed annually in Rockefeller Center in mid-town Manhattan in New York City. The tree is erected and lit in late November or early December. In recent years, the lighting has been broadcast live nationwide on NBC's Christmas in...
lighting special, "Christmas in Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
". Such a duet had been rumoured since Piers Morgan commented on the similar appearance of these two singers. On December 9, 2010, Evancho performed at the National Christmas Tree
National Christmas Tree (United States)
The National Christmas Tree is a large evergreen tree located in the northeast quadrant of the The Ellipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated as a Christmas tree. The grand illumination of the Christmas lights on the tree by the President of...
lighting event in Washington, D.C., singing "O Holy Night", with President Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and his family present. She performed "Pie Jesu" on the 27th annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade, which aired on ABC television on December 25, 2010.
Evancho performed the American national anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
at Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
games and at various events in 2009 and 2010, often at events for Pennsylvania state senator Jane Orie
Jane Orie
Jane Clare Orie is an American politician who currently serves in the Pennsylvania State Senate. She represents the 40th senate district, including portions of Allegheny County and Butler County. She is a Republican...
, including at a memorial ceremony at the United Flight 93 crash site. Evancho performed the anthem at the NHL Winter Classic
2011 NHL Winter Classic
The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was the fourth edition of the annual outdoor ice hockey game held by the National Hockey League as a regular season game. The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on January 1, 2011 at 8:00 p.m...
on January 1, 2011, at Heinz Field
Heinz Field
Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
in Pittsburgh. Also in January 2011, she performed at the Beverly Hills Chefs for Seals event in support of efforts to end the annual Canadian seal hunt. Evancho is the ambassador for Mission: Humane, a Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
program that encourages children to help protect animals. On February 18, 2011, she performed her own concert with the Houston Chamber Choir, and on March 12, 2011, she sang at the 2011 Festival of the Arts Boca along with the young stars of the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
. Evancho sang during Muhammad Ali's
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
"Celebrity Fight Night" charity event in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, on March 19, 2011. She also sang the introduction to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on Oprah's farewell special broadcast on May 25, 2011.
On June 4, 2011, Evancho performed as a guest artist at the finale of Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
. After touring over the summer, on September 14, 2011, she returned to America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
as a guest artist, performing "Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
" during the finale of the sixth season
America's Got Talent (season 6)
The sixth season of America's Got Talent, a reality television series, premiered on May 31, 2011 on NBC. On September 14, 2011, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr...
. Evancho recorded a duet with Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
of the song When You Wish upon a Star
When You Wish upon a Star
"When You Wish upon a Star" is a song written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. The original version of the song was sung by Cliff Edwards in the character of Jiminy Cricket, and is heard over the opening credits and again in the final scene of the...
, which appears as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of his 2011 album Duets II
Duets II (Tony Bennett album)
Duets II is an album by Tony Bennett, released on September 20, 2011. It was released in conjunction with Bennett's 85th birthday and is a sequel to his previous duet album, Duets: An American Classic. One of the songs, "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", however, was released on iTunes as a free song...
. She also sings "Pie Jesu" on the 2011 album Hit Man Returns: David Foster & Friends (2011). She sang in two David Foster & Friends concerts on October 19–20, 2011, in Tokyo, where she appeared in a Japanese television interview with Foster.
Acting
Evancho had some early theatre experience performing with Pittsburgh Musical TheaterPittsburgh Musical Theater
Pittsburgh Musical Theater is a professional theatre company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1990 with the purpose of providing high-quality productions of musicals featuring local professionals at affordable prices to residents, the company has since expanded with the educational...
in 2007. She also appeared briefly as an extra in the 2010 film She's Out of My League
She's Out of My League
She's Out of My League is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Jim Field Smith and written by Sean Anders and John Morris. The film has, in its starring roles, Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve, and was produced by Jimmy Miller for Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks and filmed in Pittsburgh,...
. Her first featured television appearance was in the episode "Back To Max" of the final season of the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
series Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place (season 4)
The fourth and final season of Wizards of Waverly Place premiered on Disney Channel on November 12, 2010. This is the second season of the series to be broadcast in high definition. The Russo children, Alex , Justin and Max Russo The fourth and final season of Wizards of Waverly Place premiered on...
(2011) singing "America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful
"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward....
" in Tribeca Prep's "Spirit of America Play" and asking Mr. Laritate if her performance was sufficient to "work off" detention.
Evancho is set to appear in the forthcoming feature film, The Company You Keep
The Company You Keep (film)
The Company You Keep is an upcoming political action thriller, produced and directed by Robert Redford. The script was written by Lem Dobbs...
, which is billed as a political thriller and expected to be released in 2013 or late 2012. She plays Isabel, the eleven-year-old daughter of a widowed Albany attorney turned fugitive, Jim Grant, played by Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
, who also directs the film. Grant is a former Weather Underground militant who is pursued by the FBI when his identity is uncovered by an ambitious journalist.
Reception
Christopher Hahn, General Director of the Pittsburgh OperaPittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is one of two opera companies in the city, the other being Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the...
, said of Evancho's performance of "O mio babbino caro
O mio babbino caro
"O mio babbino caro" is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi , by Giacomo Puccini, to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to...
" on America's Got Talent, "It's very unusual for a young child to have a voice that sounded so rich and developed." "I thought she was just lovely, sweetly compelling", said Hahn. "It is quite unusual to hear a young girl with that level of warmth and roundness." Hahn particularly praised Evancho's phrasing. A year later, Antony Walker, Pittsburgh Opera's music director, said: "she has a very sincere way of singing. ... Her voice has a lovely quality to it. It's very simple singing but it comes from the heart. You rarely hear someone so young with such a beautiful voice".
In 2010, composer Tim Janis
Tim Janis
Tim Janis is an American composer with 10 Billboard charting CDs, over one million albums sold, four National Public Television Specials, and a constant touring presence.-Career:...
commented that Evancho "takes a classical piece and makes it friendly and accessible. ... Her voice is so pure and natural, there's no flaw in it. People say 'I can hear her potential coming,' but no, it's here, it's now." After her performance of "Ave Maria
Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
The Bach/Gounod Ave Maria is a popular and much-recorded setting of the Latin text Ave Maria.Written by French Romantic composer Charles Gounod in 1859, his Ave Maria consists of a melody superimposed over the Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier, written by...
", America's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
enthused: "I have never seen an act, on this show or the British show
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
or any of the other talent shows in the world, with more potential than Jackie Evancho. That was perfection. Perfection!" Nekesa Mumbi Moody, writing for Associated Press and ABC News, commented that although "there is a youthful quality in Jackie's voice, it's hardly childlike: It's a soprano that deftly traverses the musical scales". Claudia Benack, Assistant Professor of musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, said that Evancho "has an unusually adult feel for the repertoire. ... She sings to the important part of the phrase, and then backs off. That's instinctual. ... She takes breaths sometimes where an adult would not, but that's just because she's young and little". Etta Cox, a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer and instructor from Pittsburgh, echoed many commenters: "Her voice just doesn't fit her body. I've never heard a voice like that in a 10-year-old, and I've been teaching voice for many years. The maturity of her voice is incredible for someone her age." Critics have noted "the slightly awkward hand and arm movements that endear her to listeners, and which turned into forceful pulls to her sides at moments of high drama."
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
commented in June 2011, reviewing Dream With Me, "her voice has matured quite a lot over the past 10 months. The darkness sounds less forced, her low register is much stronger and the voice has a bit more heft". The paper continued, "what makes us feel like she will survive the journey from child star to adult performer is her magnificent sense of pitch, her natural ability to shape phrases and the ease with which she performs. This is what makes her a joy to listen to. Since she's still a kid, and we all have affectations when we're learning, we'll pretend we didn't notice the Brightman arms." In reviewing her 2011 Pittsburg Opera concert, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review called her voice "beautifully in tune and well supported. ... Evancho's sincerity of delivery was affecting". A reviewer from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote of her 2011 Avery Fisher Hall concert that, in her first half dozen numbers, she "often receded, but toward the end of the night she found purpose, delivering 'A Time for Us
Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)
Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 British-Italian cinematic adaptation of the William Shakespeare play of the same name.The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design; it was also...
' with punch, and closing out ... 'Angel
Angel (Sarah McLachlan song)
"Angel" is a song by Sarah McLachlan that originally appeared on her 1997 album Surfacing. As McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers, the song is about the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who overdosed on heroin and died in 1996."Angel" was McLachlan's second top 5 hits...
' with what felt like real yearning." The Wall Street Journal called Evancho's performance of the song "Angel" on the Tonight Show "moving".
Discography
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Prelude to a Dream Prelude to a Dream Prelude to a Dream is Jackie Evancho's debut album released on November 15, 2009. By early September 2010 it had been withdrawn from public sale... |
Independent album |
| 2010 | O Holy Night O Holy Night (Jackie Evancho album) O Holy Night is the official debut Christmas EP by American child singer, Jackie Evancho, who was ten years old when the album was released. The album was released in 2010, only months after Evancho rose to prominence as a finalist on the reality TV show America's Got Talent. It was certified... |
EP |
| 2011 | Dream with Me Dream With Me Dream with Me, Jackie Evancho's second full-length album , was released on June 3, 2011 on digital download format and on June 14, 2011 in the standard CD format... |
Studio album |
| Dream with Me in Concert | CD/DVD, Blu-ray, and DVD-only version | |
| Heavenly Christmas Heavenly Christmas Heavenly Christmas is American singer Jackie Evancho's first full-length Christmas album, and her fourth album overall. It contains ten tracks and was produced by Rob Mounsey, with arrangements by Mounsey and Ryan Shore for Sony Music Entertainment.... |
Studio album |