Bianca Ryan, the 12-year-old singing prodigy who won the first season′s finale of AMERICA′S GOT TALENT released her much-anticipated self-titled debut album last week. With appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Martha Stewart Show just to name a few, Bianca was hitting the daytime talk show circuit promoting her new album.
Our own RealityTVWebsite.com Elaine James caught up with Bianca last Thursday morning in this exclusive one-on-one interview, right after she had just finished up an appearance on the TODAY SHOW and was eating her breakfast backstage. (It was a sausage and cheese biscuit!)
Elaine James: America got a hint of you when you came in second on STAR SEARCH. Whose idea was it to try out for AMERICA′S GOT TALENT?
Bianca Ryan: My friends were telling me about it because Simon Cowell was involved with it. I found it online where you can look up auditions. Me and my dad and my grandma and my older brother went to New York where they were holding auditions. They called us up like a month later and flew us out to California for the real audition that you guys saw on TV.
Elaine James: Your debut album came out last Tuesday. What did you do to celebrate?
Bianca Ryan: We couldn′t really celebrate that much because we′ve been really busy. We haven′t had time to go to the store and see it yet.
Elaine James: Do you feel as though you need to "grow up" now that you are becoming famous?
Bianca Ryan: I′m still enjoying being a kid.
Elaine James: What other things do you enjoy besides singing?
Bianca Ryan: I love to dance and I really want to get involved with acting and stuff. I think it would be really cool to do a show on the Disney Channel or do like comedy movies.
Elaine James: Who do you look up to?
Bianca Ryan: Um...whatchamacallit? Like who I like as a singer?
Elaine James: Any role model of yours?
Bianca Ryan: I like Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Christina Aguilera.
Elaine James: What do you want to be doing 5 & 10 years from now?
Bianca Ryan: Hopefully still having my CD′s out and being in some like movies and stuff. That would be cool.
Elaine James: What would you want to do with your life if you weren′t singing?
Bianca Ryan: I probably want to be an actress. I just lover performing arts pretty much.
Elaine James: Were you involved a lot in school in any plays or shows?
Bianca Ryan: Um, before the show I had all the time and would do our school plays and stuff.
Elaine James: Do you have any advice for other young girls who look up to you and want to be singers?
Bianca Ryan: I would just say go for your dreams and stuff. I was an ordinary kid too. I was just singing in my basement. If I can do it then they could do it.
Elaine James: So what would you tell them to do; just be involved in school or to go as far as try out for TV shows?
Bianca Ryan: I′d just tell them to keep practicing, but you also have to do well in school and keep your grades up or else your parents won′t let you go.
Elaine James: I′ve heard you haven′t had a problem with that because you are still enrolled at your school and you keep up on the work.
Bianca Ryan: Yeah, I have like a tutor and I have my real school too. My school has been really supportive and they give me my work and I′ll bring it with me on the road. I want to stay in my school, because now I′m in sixth grade and that it when all the school dances start. This week will be my first one.
