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Jackie Evancho: 8 Things to Know About the Singer Performing at Trump's Inauguration

By Sam Reed
12/15/2016
By Sam Reed
12/15/2016

From 'America's Got Talent' to America's biggest stage.

Come January, 16-year-old Jackie Evancho has some big shoes to fill. 

The classical crossover singer follows in the footsteps of diva legends Aretha Franklin and Beyoncé — who performed at the 2009 and 2013 inauguration ceremonies, respectively — as a performer at the 2017 inauguration celebration. On Wednesday morning, the Trump team made the announcement that the Pittsburgh-native will duet with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli at the ceremony on Jan. 20. 

Here, everything to know about the talented blonde — who did not publicly support either candidate during the election cycle — that will be serenading the country. (First things first, it's pronounced Ee-van-koh.)

Artist Mentioned

1. At age 10, she appeared on America's Got Talent. 
She blew the judges away on season 5 with her angelic vocals and was the runner-up in the competition. She revealed on the show that she began training at age 8 after seeing The Phantom of the Opera with her family. She has since released 6 studio albums and toured the country, performing at Carnegie Hall and Cirque du Soleil.

Though she has primarily performed covers, in 2016 she debuted the original song, "Apocalypse." 

 

2. She is a big supporter of the transgender community, as her older sister, Juliet, is transgender.
In 2015, she released a music video for her cover of Ed Sheeran's "All of the Stars" about a transgender teen, which she dedicated to 18-year-old Juliet.

3. She's a talented sketch artist.
The 16-year-old regularly posts several of her original sketches on Instagram.

 

Airplane doodles #art #inkart

A photo posted by Jackie Evancho (@officialjackieevancho) on

 

4. She appeared in the 2012 Robert Redford film, The Company You Keep.
She played Redford's daughter, Isabel Grant. 

 

5. She's modeled for Guess Kids and Justice Women's clothing. 
In 2012, Evancho starred in an ad campaign for Guess Kids. In 2014, she performed a pop song for girls clothing brand Justice. 

 

6. The inauguration isn't her first presidential performance.
She also performed in front of President Obama at the 2010 National Christmas Tree Lighting. 
 

7. She's performed on stage with Michael Bolton, Sinbad, Barbara Streisand and Chris Mann.
Evancho has performed with several legendary artists, and has regularly been featured at David Foster's annual charity concerts. She refers to Foster, who produced her second album, as her "musical dad."

8. When she's not performing on a national stage, she loves to go shopping with her BFF. 
Like any 16-year-old, Evancho is a big fan of shopping at stores like Brandy Melville and Free People and Instagramming her photogenic feline.

 

I made sure that I scheduled plenty of time to shop. And shop I did!

A photo posted by Jackie Evancho (@officialjackieevancho) on

 

This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.

By Sam Reed
12/15/2016