Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
IDAHO FALLS — In front of her largest crowd ever, an 11-year-old singer wowed thousands of Utah Jazz fans while performing the national anthem.
Paige Anne took to the court Saturday at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City before the Utah Jazz beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Idaho Falls girl, who has been singing three years, had auditioned to sing at the game but almost pulled out at the last minute because she was feeling sick, EastIdahoNews.com reported.
“She had laryngitis that morning,” Anne’s mother, Launie Shelman, told EastIdahoNews.com. “The cold was not going away and she could barely talk.”
Shelman said before the audition, nationally-acclaimed pianist and composer Kurt Bestor saw Paige in the lobby and gave her some encouragement.
“Kurt Bestor came out and said, ‘Hey, you’ve got to give it a go. You can’t come all this way and then not do it,’” Shelman said. “My little girl got down on her knees and she prayed.”
Shelman said Paige gave judges an audition they’ll never forget.
“The voice came out of nowhere and it blew these judges away,” Shelman said.
Even though Paige is in the early stages of her youth, many say she has the voice of a seasoned professional and her mother says she’s “65 pounds of voice.”
Paige has done local plays with the Idaho Falls Youth Art Council and is a state and national pageant champion. Paige was also the winner of Rexburg’s Upper Valley Idol in 2016.
Paige will be performing the national anthem for the second time at a Boise State men’s basketball game in November.
Watch the video above to see Paige’s performance at the Utah Jazz game!
