Thursday was a big day in the world of 10-year-old Canadian singers!
First, Lady Gaga threw her support behind Winnipeg resident Maria Lourdes Aragon’s YouTube performance of “Born This Way,” and now, Simon Cowell has added a different 10-year-old performer — Toronto native Heather Russell — to his record label.
The former “American Idol” judge/music mogul gave Russell a contract after viewing a YouTube video of the budding artist — shared with him by former “Canadian Idol” judge Zack Werner — according to Toronto’s The Star.
Russell has reportedly begun working with Rob Fusari (the produced who helped launch Lady Gaga’s incredible rise to fame), according to the Canadian paper.
A video posted on the chanteuse’s YouTube channel shows an 8-year-old Russell performing a song she penned. Her channel also features additional videos of the young musician accompanying herself on the piano while she sings. Her video performances have been viewed collectively over 250,000 times on YouTube.
It’s not surprising that Russell is musically gifted — her mother, Monica Cidade, is a vocalist who’s record over 50 songs and her father, James Russell, is reportedly a youth symphony member who comprised one half of Canadian rock duo Acosta/Russell.
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Lady Gaga was overcome with emotion on Thursday after a video of 10-year-old Maria Lourdes Aragon performing a flawless rendition of “Born This Way” hit the Internet.
“This is just the beginning,” Aragon told Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush of her musical endeavors, in a phone interview for “The Billy Bush Show” on Thursday. “So, I feel overwhelmed and excited.”
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, the Grammy Award-winning singer saw Aragon’s video tribute less than 24 hours after the young fan posted it. Gaga then re-tweeted the video to her followers early Thursday, writing, “Can’t stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future.”