Little girl’s big voice leads to opportunity

Lianah Sta. Ana is a lot like other 10- year-old girls in many ways. A fifthgrader at the Laura Donovan School, Freehold Township, Lianah likes drawing and dancing. She resides with her parents, Nailah and Nathan, and her sister, Maya, 6, in Freehold Township.

Lianah Sta. Ana Unlike many other 10-year-old girls, though, Lianah will be singing at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 3. Because of her powerful vocal abilities she has received the honor of performing at

New York Knicks basketball game through the Kidzbop Sports Jam Talent Search.

Lianah will be singing a 90-second version of Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself” during halftime of the game. The crowd’s response will determine if Lianah or one of the other two singers who perform that day will move on to the finals in that talent search competition.

Greater Media Newspapers reported on Lianah last year when she won the first talent contest she ever entered, the Guild The- atreworks’ production of “Our Jersey Shore Idol Contest” held in Brick Township.

At age 9, Lianah was the youngest of the 17 contestants who took part in the event. She wowed the audience with her rendition of Beyonce’s “Listen” and walked away with a cash prize of $250, lots of hugs and kisses from her family, and a really big smile.

Less than a year later the little girl with a big voice has a lot of accomplishments under her belt and a lot more to look forward to.

In addition to the Madison Square Garden gig, Lianah will be performing in New York City at the “Hearthrobs and Friends” concert on March 31. The “Hearthrobs and Friends” concert is associated with The Filipino (television) Channel (TFC) and will highlight some popular actors and entertainers from the Philippines.

Lianah is very proud to be a Filipino- American and was thrilled when she was asked to be the opening act for the show.

Her idol is Charice Pempengco, a young Filipino singer who has become popular since being discovered by Oprah Winfrey. Lianah’s dream is to be a famous singer and to sing with Charice one day.

Lianah was recently chosen to perform on stage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, N.Y., for an Amateur Night scheduled for April 14. She will appear on “Spotlight with Della Crews” on News 12 New Jersey on April 27.

Another exciting honor Lianah has to look forward to is representing the United States as a member of Team USA in the 2010 World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA – also known as the “Talent Olympics”). That competition will take place in Hollywood, Calif., from July 17- 25.

Now in its 14th year, WCOPA invites contestants from the United States and 50 other countries to compete for the gold in a number of categories in front of more than 100 judges who are powerful influences within the entertainment industry.

Sponsorship opportunities are available to those who would like to help Lianah with her WCOPA experience. She will be competing in a total of five vocal competitions and local individuals or businesses are welcome to help show their support while gaining exposure for their business by donating anything from finances to help cover Lianah’s expenses, to clothing, hair styling services, cosmetics, accessories, raffle items, etc. Potential sponsors can email nana795@verizon.net.

Lianah’s parents are very supportive of her and proud of how much she has accomplished. Her mom, Nailah, spends time online at night researching opportunities for Lianah and her efforts over a relatively short period of time have proven fruitful.

This past summer Lianah placed second at the Colts Neck Fair Talent Contest and was the third-place finalist at the Big Joe Henry Talent Contest in Point Pleasant. She was also invited to sing with popular cover band The Nerds on several occasions and she was a guest singer weekly in the Free hold Idol singing competition in Freehold Borough (she was too young to compete in the event.)

In November 2009 Lianah was the only child who made it into the finals out of 220 people of all ages who auditioned for the “Next Generation Music Production” singing contest, run by Next Gen Music Production Company, an organization dedicated to creating awareness about and promoting the expansion of Asian popular culture.

Lianah ranked fourth runner-up in the contest and was among an impressive group of talented winners.

The top five consisted of an opera singer who has performed with Jose Carreras, one of the worldrenowned Three Tenors; another opera singer who graduated from the China Conservatory of Music; professional singer with more than 20 years of international experience; and 2007 runner-up for “Vive La Musica!” — Panama’s version of “American Idol.”

Lianah works hard to perfect her natural talent. She practices every day and receives vocal instruction with Elaine Kennerly at the Staten Island Conservatory of Music and piano lessons with Barbara Keune at Music University, Freehold Township.

When asked how she feels about singing and what her favorite music and songs are, Lianah replied, “Singing is really fun and I like to entertain anyone who would want to listen. I enjoy singing rhythm and blues, pop and contemporary music. I don’t really have any favorite songs, but I guess I do like

Listen’ by Beyonce.”

Lianah’s parents exposed her to music from the time she was a baby. Nailah said her daughter got a taste of performing for money at the tender age of 18 months when she sang in front of some family members during a holiday gathering and collected a total of $75.

“Around the same time we also noticed that she had the gift of being able to memorize entire songs ranging from Barney and Disney songs to mainstream music,” Nailah added.

Lianah’s sister, Maya, a first-grader at the Laura Donovan School, is her sister’s No. 1 fan. She loves to watch her sing and perform. She says she wants to be in Lianah’s entourage. According to her parents, Maya enjoys singing duets with Lianah and shares her sister’s innate vocal talent.

“My husband and I are extremely proud, not only because of what Lianah has accomplished so far, but more so of her focus, determination and drive to go after what she wants,” said Nailah. “We are also very proud of her ‘never give up’ spirit, her willingness to make mistakes (because she knows she must go through them to learn and get better), her courage to try different things and her humility in being able to laugh at herself.”