Jackie Evancho - Prelude to a Dream

Jackie Evancho - Prelude to a Dream VBR

Year 2009

Tracks
1. Every time 3:42
2. Concrete Angel 4:03
3. Teaching Angels How to Fly 5:18
4. Starry Starry Night (Vincent) 4:43
5. Think of Me 3:09
6. Memory 3:53
7. To Where You Are 3:52
8. The River of Dreams 4:23
9. Dark Waltz 4:21
10. The Prayer 4:30
11. Amazing Grace 4:43
12. Ave Maria (Schubert) 4:52
13. O Mio Babbino Caro 4:04
14. Con Te Partiro 3:54

singing sensation Jackie Evancho. Jackie shot to prominence in 2009 when her independent debut album 'Prelude To A Dream' reached 121 on the Billboard 200. Subsequently withdrawn from release, it is now a collector's item with bids on ebay reaching $1,500. Jackie was accepted as a contestant on the fifth season of America's Got Talent TV search where she came second. Her second album 'O Holy Night' debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. Still only 11, the singer's third album 'Dream With Me' features the singer performing such songs as "A Mother's Prayer" (with Susan Boyle), "The Lord's Prayer" and "When You Wish Upon A Star". America's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan said after watching her perform "Ave Maria", "I have never seen an act, on this show or the British show or any other talent shows in the world, with more potential than Jackie Evancho. That was perfection."
"She was only 9 years old then when she recorded this CD"
This album is obviously not great in itself, for the reasons others have mentioned, plus the immaturity of Jackie's voice. What's interesting is to hear how her voice developed over such a short time. Jackie loves singing in Italian (she insists on singing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" in that language). If you make the assumption that the last songs on the album, the ones in Italian, were recorded last, something happened to her voice during the summer of 2009 (if you do the math, that's when it was likely recorded). She went from being a very good child singer to having a much bigger voice, almost adult like. Then by the time of Jackie's concert a few months later, in December 2009 at the Highmark Company in Pittsburgh, she'd developed astonishing richness, a truly amazing sound. At this writing, another 8 months later, her voice is bigger still.
Her vocal quality now is far superior to ALL of the adult amateur singers uncovered on American Idol, Britain's Got Talent, all of them. Forget about Susan Boyle, Paul Potts, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, all the others, Jackie's tone quality is far richer. Only a handful of ADULT female popular singers can match her tone now, and she's ten yes TEN! And she's not a child who's reaching puberty years earlier than her peers, she's still a little girl. Was Maria Callas this good at ten? Leontyne Price? Mature sopranos now of course have richer voices but just wait. Jackie's parents are smart enough to have hired experienced voice teachers who'll be sure she doesn't ruin her voice. With a few more years' growth, practice & polish, we'll all be even more astonished than we are now.