Who Is Jackie Evancho? 5 Things To Know About Donald Trump’s Inauguration Singer

On Wednesday, classical singer Jackie Evancho announced she would be performing the national anthem at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. At just 16 years old, the Pittsburgh native is already an accomplished artist with a gold album under her belt and a total of 3 million records sold. Before her Jan. 20, 2017 performance, get to know a little bit about the singer.

1. She Finished In 2nd Place On “America’s Got Talent”

If the young singer looks familiar to you, you may have seen her on“America’s Got Talent.” After two unsuccessful auditions for the show, Evancho was selected to appear on the fifth season and made it all the way to the final two before losing to Michael Grimm.

2. She Has Performed With David Foster

Musician David Foster has worked with some of music’s biggest stars including Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart and Andrea Bocelli and you can also add Evancho to the list. Before appearing on “America’s Got Talent,” Evancho sang with Foster during his “David Foster & Friends” concert in 2009.

3. It’s Not Her First Time Performing For A President

While her performance at the upcoming inauguration will be her first inauguration performance, it won’t be Evancho’s first time singing for a president. The singer has performed for President Obama in the past during the National Christmas Tree Lighting. Evancho called the experience “really awesome” and said she was excited to meet the POTUS.

4. She’s Performed For Trump Before

Six years ago, a very young Evancho performed for Trump at a Mar-a-lago event. While that affair was on a much smaller scale, Evancho is excited to perform in front of a larger crowd. “I feel like it’s going to be a big audience and I love big audiences,” she said.

5. She Is The Target Of Cyber-Bullying

Following the announcement that she would perform at the inauguration, Evancho revealed that she has been the target of hate. “My family is kind of a big target. I have a transgender sister and so a lot of hate goes towards us,” Evancho told People. “But I also get a lot of love. So, we pay most attention to that. Sometimes we get really annoyed with the hate, everyone does, we have to admit it but we just ignore it.”

Evancho’s 18-year-old sister, Juliet, publicly revealed she was transgender during the Global Lyme Alliance gala in New York last year.