I am so proud of my extremely talented 16 year-old daughter Aliyah. Aliyah had the honor of performing onstage with the country duo, Sugarland, Friday night at the Fed Ex Forum. Aliyah is an aspiring singer and she entered the contest "Singing with Sugarland" a few months ago on You Tube. Imagine our surprise when we received the phone call from Sugarland's staff on Wednesday that she had won the contest. The Sugarland concert was amazing and of course, Aliyah's performance of "Baby Girl" onstage with Jennifer and Kristian was the highlight of the evening for me. She truly made the town of Arlington, TN proud! I was a little disappointed that our local media did not highlight this accomplishment, but I am confident that this was the first of many awesome opportunities for Aliyah. She was raised in a household filled with country music lovers (her grandmother and I). We are often questioned and teased by family and friends about whether Aliyah realizes she is black. Music is not about black or white, it is about loving the music. Music sees no color, there is no rule that states a little black girl cannot sing or love country music. Country music is one of Aliyah's passion, it is one of the avenues where she feels comfortable sharing her talent and showcasing her amazing voice. I will support Aliyah as she pursues her dreams and works to achieve her goals. She can do anything she puts her mind to, even becoming a Country Music star if that's what she chooses! The compliments and high fives she was given as we left the Forum on Friday proved that the crowd didn't care about the color of her skin, they cared about the performance she delivered. Aliyah will not be dissuaded by the color of her skin, she will rise above the limitations! She is my baby girl and she makes me proud!
Click this link to read the story on Sugarland's website:
http://www.sugarlandmusic.com/news/93921
