Talented young singers from across the country grabbed the microphone and took center stage in New York this week, with dreams of performing on one of sport’s biggest stages.
Fifty-six children between the ages of 7 and 14 traveled to the Big Apple for a callback audition. Those selected will perform an a capella versions of "America the Beautiful" at the 2017 US Open later this summer.
"I got to sing for the women's semifinal which was pretty cool, so now I'm back because I want to do that again," said 10-year-old Kialani Mills, from Phoenix, who made her US Open debut last year and hopes to return for the 2017 tournament. "I like how [singing] just expresses your emotions. It helps you get all of your emotions out and helps you connect with everyone and communicate with everyone. It sends a message to the people you're singing to. It's really fun and inspirational."
The children were shortlisted from a pool of more than 150 applicants who submitted videos of themselves performing the song on YouTube. Those who made the first cut then performed their version of the patriotic tune in front of a panel of judges and industry insiders Tuesday at Ripley Grier Studios in Manhattan.
The applicants included hopefuls from Tennessee, Iowa, Florida and California, as well as a strong tri-state contingent from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In total, singers from 14 states made the final auditions, including 10-year-old Sabia Farag from Kailua, Hawaii.
"It was really good," Sabia said of her audition. "I sang and I was relaxed and I sang proud and looked into the camera. It would be surreal for me [to perform at the US Open]. It would be a lot of people and I don't think I've ever performed in front of that many people, but it would be really fun to experience what it would be like."
The youngest singer was 7-year-old Tessa Chow from New York, while the eldest was 14-year-old Victoria Robertson from neighboring New Jersey. One of the rising stars from New York, Graydon Peter Yasowitz, hopes to add the US Open to an already impressive list of performances.
"It [would be] really cool to be in the US Open," said Yasowitz, who has appeared on the "Kevin Can Wait" TV show, in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" off Broadway and starred in the Carnegie Hall Family Holiday Concert. "I went to tennis camp and they took us there and it was a lot of fun. It's really cool."
Judges will select 12 of the callback contestants to perform "America the Beautiful" in Arthur Ashe Stadium prior to the night-session matches at the US Open, with another picked to sing the national anthem on Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day.
“The US Open delivers the highest levels of sports and entertainment to fans every year," said Gordon Smith, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, USTA. “The young singers performing patriotic songs at night session matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium is one of the highlights for fans, and we are proud of this tradition."
The USTA announced its nationwide online audition as part of its 11th annual US Open anthem contest in April and accepted submissions through the middle of May. This is the third year for the online auditions, open to all kids 14 years of age or younger.
The USTA will make its final singer selections in early July. Those selected will receive a US Open gift bag and tickets to their performance session.
