Two thoughts come to my mind when I see this video. 1) Now I truly understand the comment, “She’s 9 going on 35!” and 2) This kid loves performing… OMG!

I say OMG because I don’t really like a lot of what I see in that industry. Don’t get me wrong, I love the music, but not necessarily the atmosphere of the mega music stars. That world seems laden with midnight trips down the aisle to yet another marriage alter.  Not that I’ve seen it for myself, but drugs seems to be handed out like mint candies at a Mexican restaurant. And then there are those lovely mug shots that appear on the nightly news… the once proud star looking disheveled and pissed that saying, “Hey man, I’m Lindsay Lohan!” didn’t get her out of being arrested. As a parent, I say, no thanks! Not my kid. That is until I met Whitney Myer. She’s a Reno native who made it onto the national stage with the show “The Voice.” When I first saw her on TV I thought, “Oh look! Annie made the show!” She has bright red, frizzy hair, a sweet smile… and then she opens her mouth. Wow! This kid can sing. She’s like Nelly Furtado, Erykah Badu and KD Lang all wrapped up into one. Unfortunately, she didn’t win on the show. But becaues of that, Reno has won a great ambassador. I found Whitney on a Friday in November playing at the Renown Children’s Hospital. Since her debut on The Voice, she’s been coming to the hospital every Wednesday and Friday for 2 hours each day. She sings at the bedsides of kids getting treatment. She sings whatever genre they want to hear. She gives them one on one attention. She helps them heal simply by strumming her guitar and allowing her sultry voice to enter their hearts and souls and take them momentarily out of the hospital. “I love it, honestly. It remind me what music is all about,which is connecting with people,” says Whitney.

And I believe her. When so many super stars are taking trips to the hospital to get off drugs or deal with their stress, this up and coming star is spending time at the hospital for all the right reasons. If more singers were like Whitney Myer, maybe I wouldn’t be so afraid of my daughter pursuing a career in singing. Maybe if Eva does keep singing, she and Whitney can be roommates! In the mean time, we should all support Whitney on her journey. Check her out at www.whitneymyerband.com  And to hear what the kids in the hospital have to say about Whitney’s visits, go to www.renownscribbles.org  I’ve written a separate blog over there.