Bianca Taylor Ryan (born September 1, 1994) is an
American singer and guitarist from
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, who won the
debut season of
NBC's
America's Got Talent at age eleven.
Ryan's self-titled first CD was recorded just after her 12th birthday and released on November 14, 2006;
Bianca Ryan broke into the
Billboard 200 at #57.
One month later, the
EP Christmas Everyday! was released as a
promotional giveaway.
She has since performed in such countries as Austria and Switzerland.
Her first concert tour took her across the United States as the "special guest" artist for
Live Nation's Nextfest.
Biography
Bianca Ryan is the second of four children of Shawn and Janette Ryan. Her father, a fan of the
Rolling Stones, named her after
Mick Jagger's ex wife. Bianca has an older brother, Shawn, and two younger siblings, Isabella and Jagger.
Ryan has
Irish ancestry from her father's side and her maternal grandmother is
Japanese.
At age seven, Ryan developed an interest in the
R&B and
gospel music genres, and recalls practicing in her family's basement only to hear her father ask, "How did you learn to sing like that?"
Ryan counts
Yolanda Adams,
Mariah Carey,
Kelly Clarkson,
Jennifer Holliday and
Patti LaBelle among her favorite singers. Adams was her voice coach for the
America's Got Talent finals.
For the 2006–2007 academic year, Ryan was a sixth-grader at School Lane Charter School in
Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania. "I'm in school most of the time," she said, "and keep up on my work when I have to go on the road."
Just before the release of her CD, Ryan's grandmother, Marie Ryan, who had struggled with
Alzheimer's disease for five years, died.
The following week,
Mayor John F. Street proclaimed November 13 "Bianca Ryan Day" in Philadelphia and presented Ryan with a
key to the city.
America's Got Talent, 2006
While searching the Internet for auditions early in 2006, Ryan discovered that
Idol judge
Simon Cowell was serving as
executive producer for an upcoming competition titled
America's Got Talent. For her audition appearance, she chose the
Dreamgirls showtune "
And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (originally performed by
Jennifer Holliday), surprising the audience and the judges with her powerful voice.
By April 2007, a copy of Ryan's audition had climbed into the 100 "Top Rated (All Time) in Music" videos at
YouTube.
At the semi-finals of the show, the judges loved the performance but said that the song wasn't right for her.
America's Got Talents finale results aired on August 17, 2006, during which Ryan was announced as the winner of the first season of the show.
Ryan made a brief appearance during the show's
second season finale. In a video recorded during the Nextfest tour, she wished "the best of luck" to the top two finalists.
Career
On August 24, 2006, Ryan announced on her website that she had flown to
New York to meet with representatives from a "major
record label" and some of the recording industry's top songwriters.
The
Northeast Times reported that same day that Ryan met with
Grammy Award-winning producer
David Foster and was being managed by
Peter Rudge.
On September 18, 2006, Ryan signed a five-album record deal with SYCOmusic as part of
Columbia Records.
Ryan is the first U.S. artist to sign with SYCOmusic.
The following month, Ryan was in
Los Angeles,
California, to record her first CD, featuring
cover versions of "
The Rose" and "
I Believe I Can Fly" and original songs like "I Wish That" and "Pray for a Better Day".
Bianca Ryan was released on November 14, 2006; eight days later, the album broke in at #57 on the
Billboard album charts, showcasing "her gargantuan chops and sweet charm," wrote Matt Collar of
Allmusic. Though he called the arrangements "somewhat over-the-top pop creations" and "grandiose given Ryan's age, her musical aspirations are more than matched by her truly impressive vocal talent".
reviewer Sandra Barrera said that Bianca handled the songs "like the old pro that her big, powerful voice makes you think she is".
Ryan has penned over a dozen original tunes and will be working on collaborations with
Glen Ballard, the producer of
Alanis Morissette's
Jagged Little Pill, and
Siedah Garrett, best known for writing the single
Man In The Mirror of
Michael Jackson's album
Bad, for her upcoming release. It was also said that
Quincy Jones will be the executive producer on her new album. Ryan is also focusing on other media performances including film, TV and soundtrack work.
Discography
Albums
- Released: November 14, 2006
- Chart positions: #57 US
- U.S. Sales: 105,000
- Sales Worldwide: 200,000+
Christmas Everyday!
- Released: December 5, 2007
- Chart positions: N/A
- U.S. Sales: N/A
|
Singles
Filmography
Feature films
| Year
| Film
| Role
| Notes
|
| 2006
| 12 and Holding
| Singing Girl
| Released May 19, 2006
|
Television
- Star Search
- Showtime at the Apollo
- The Tom Joyner Show
- America's Got Talent – six appearances (June 28, July 26, July 27, August 16, August 17, 2006, and August 21, 2007)
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show – two appearances (September 13 and November 16, 2006)
- The CW Morning Show – November 16, 2006
- Today – November 16, 2006
- The Oprah Winfrey Show – November 5, 2006
- Martha – November 20, 2006
- Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade – December 25, 2006
- 49th Pepsi 400 (from Daytona International Speedway), July 7, 2007
