#72 - THE SUNDAY SPECIAL - Just Call Me A Jackie Groupie

When you were a teen, who were some of your favorite music personalities?

It might surprise you to know, but though I was a teen during the decade of the Beatles (yes, I am that old!), I really did not care for them. If I was a fan of any music performers, it was The Carpenters. Their music never had an edge or a message; it was just music that made you feel good singing the lyrics on your own. I even remember being crushed when I was overseas and read that Karen Carpenter had died; it was like losing someone in my own family

Today, teen music stars include Justin Beiber, Lady GaGa (sp?), Katy Perry (whose parents, I just learned this morning, are evangelical pastors, though you would not guess that with the outfits she wears). I’ve not had a teen singer I enjoyed for almost 30 years, but about a month ago, I think I actually became a groupie for a pre-teen, a ten-year old named Jackie Evancho.

As I alerted you earlier this month, Jackie had been performing on a national talent show that went on for months called “America’s Got Talent.” I will never forget the night she first performed. The judges, the audience, and I’m sure the millions who heard her were as stunned as I was because her operatic voice was so clear and powerful that you couldn’t believe that it was coming out of a diminutive little girl. So many other acts were flashy, Las Vegas style acts. But suddenly, there was this little girl, in a simple dress, singing like you would expect angels in heaven would sound. It just took your breath away. That first night she performed on national television and EVERY time I’ve seen her perform, the audience rises to give her a standing ovation.

Maybe I find myself so fascinated by her is not just her music, but because she calls us back to a time when performers simply performed. Jackie reminds us older folks of a time when they didn’t need flashy clothes or an edgy reputation or persona to get you to listen to them. As one of the judges said, she’s just pure talent. For me, the fact that two of her songs – “Pie Jesu” and “Ave Maria” – touches a spiritual cord in me that moves me to tears, something that even many Christian music cannot do. And I don’t even understand the words as I don’t of any opera performance.

I can only pray that, by the time she gets to high school (around 15 or 5 years from now), Jackie isn’t remade into another product of Hollywood. The world certainly doesn’t need another Britney Spears or Lady GaGa. The world needs more performers who can take your breath away by their pure, God-given talent. Maybe that’s why I’m not ashamed to say I’m a groupie of a 10-year old.

By the way, you might pray for she and her family as it was revealed AFTER the contest that they have been in danger of losing their home because they can’t keep up their mortgage. (It’s interesting and noteworthy that the person who beat her out for the million dollar prize kept talking about using the money to buy his grandparents a new home, their having lost their through Hurricane Katrina. I have to wonder if the needs of her family were made known during the contest it might have made a difference in swaying enough people to vote for her. Oh yeah, I voted for her the 10 times maximum you were allowed; I’ve never voted on a call in show for anyone before.)

I invite you to go to her website: www.jackieevancho.com (Just her home page makes you want to smile.) Click on the button at the top of the home page labeled “Media,” and you can listen to any of her four of performances. (If you listen to only one, I suggest you check out “Pie Jesu.” I would love to know what YOU think!