Kaitlyn Maher

Kaitlyn Maher

Kaitlyn performing at the National Cherry Blossom Festival on April 11, 2009
Background information
Birth name Kaitlyn Ashley Maher
Born (2004-01-10) January 10, 2004
Michigan
Origin Novi, Michigan, United States
Genres Pop/Rock, Religious[1]
Occupation(s) Child singer, actress
Instruments Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active 2008–present (singer)
2009–present (actress)
Labels Universal Music[2]
Website www.kaitlynmaher.com.usa

Kaitlyn Ashley Maher (born January 10, 2004) is an American child singer and actress born in Michigan, and raised in Ashburn, Virginia. In 2008, at the age of 4, she appeared on the third season of America's Got Talent and for her audition sang "Somewhere Out There". She reached the top 10 of AGT season 3, and was the youngest person to ever reach that level. Maher has since appeared live at The Great Kids Expo[3][4] in Chantilly, Virginia, on October 25, 2008, a live broadcast of the 2008 lighting of the National Christmas Tree,[5] on December 4, 2008, attended by President George W. Bush and over 7,000 guests, and the 2009 Cherry Blossom Festival on April 11, 2009.[6] On October 3, 2009, Maher was the opening act of The Addi and Cassi Hempel Fund benefit.[7] Maher has appeared in a Harris Teeter[8] commercial airing during December 2008. She was also selected by Compassion International as its first ever Child Ambassador, visited children in El Salvador with Compassion, got to meet her sponsored child, and shot a music video to her title song "You Were Meant to Be."

Maher signed a recording deal late in 2009 with Indie Extreme for the release of her debut album You Were Meant To Be.[9] The album was released December 15, 2009.[10] Kaitlyn appeared in the Disney direct to video movie Santa Buddies[11] as the voice for the character, Tiny,[12] which was released on November 24, 2009. Maher played the orphan Quinn in The Search for Santa Paws released as a direct to video on November 23, 2010[13] which had its television premiere on the Disney Channel in December 2011. She played Sarah Reynolds in the sequel titled Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups released on November 20, 2012.[14]

Early life

Maher was born on January 10, 2004, to Reuben Edward Maher and Alison Victoria Maher (née Ramlall). She has a younger brother, Ethan Joshua Maher (b. December 18, 2007). When she was eighteen months old, Maher's parents were worried because she was not getting enough sleep. She never stopped singing. Her parents took her to the pediatrician. They found out that she just loved to sing.

On March 16, 2011, Maher performed "There Will Be A Day" by Jeremy Camp at her paternal grandfather's funeral at the International House of Prayer after he died at the age of 63. There she wrote and gave a eulogy at his memorial service and was asked to give an impromptu prayer.

In addition to singing, Maher likes ballet, swimming, reading and piano.

America's Got Talent

Overview

Maher began her career on the third season of the American television reality show America's Got Talent, when she reached the top ten.[15] Producers from the show first became aware of Maher from a video that was uploaded to the popular video sharing website YouTube. The video had been made after she had been asked to sing at a birthday party for one of her relations in Canada. The video was posted because Alison Maher was pregnant with her second child and they could not travel to Canada. Five months after the video had been made, around Maher's fourth birthday; Maher's parents received an e-mail from NBC's America's Got Talent asking if Maher would be able to audition for the show's third season.

Performances/Results

Week Theme Song choice Original artist Performance order Result
Audition N/A "Somewhere Out There" James Horner N/A Advanced
Vegas Verdicts Child performers "When You Wish Upon a Star" Cliff Edwards 2 Advanced
Top 40
Group 1
Semifinals "What a Wonderful World" Louis Armstrong N/A Advanced
Top 20
Group 1
Heroes "Beauty and the Beast" Beauty and the Beast N/A Advanced
Top 10 N/A "I'll Be There" The Jackson 5 N/A Eliminated

The Goodwin Games

In 2013, Maher joined the cast of Fox's new comedy series, The Goodwin Games starring as Piper Goodwin, the daughter of Jimmy Goodwin played by T.J. Miller[16]

Russell Madness

Maher is on the film Russell Madness, directed by Robert Vince, playing the voice of Grace. This film was released on February 21, 2015 (United States)[17]

Discography

You Were Meant to Be (2009, Universal Music; 11 tracks, 39 minutes)

Filmography

Year Film Role
2009 Santa Buddies Tiny (voice)
2010 The Search for Santa Paws Quinn
2012 Treasure Buddies Cammy (voice)
Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups Sarah Reynolds
A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise Ella (voice)
2013 The Goodwin Games Piper Goodwin
Free Birds President's daughter (voice)
2015 Russell Madness Grace (voice)
2016 Mack & Moxy Trooper Kaitlyn (voice)
2016 Pup Star Tiny (voice)
2018 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Cindy Lou Who (voice)

References

  1. Kaitlyn Maher; You Were Meant to Be allmusic.com Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  2. You Were Meant to Be (CD - Universal Music #77128) allmusic.com Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  3. "Every Thing For Healthy, Happy and Safe Kids of all ages". Great Kids Expo. 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  4. Hendrickson, Lisa (October 16, 2008). "Four-Year Old Singer Kaitlyn Maher to Perform at Great Kids Expo". Thomson Reuters.
  5. "(Photo Gallery) - Four Year Old Singer Kaitlyn Maher to Performing at the National Christmas Tree Lighting - (Photo Gallery)". zimbio. December 4, 2008.
  6. Cheney, Catherine (September 2, 2009). "Singer's Only 5, But Career Hits The High Notes". The Washington Post.
  7. Hempel, Chris (July 30, 2009). "Kids Helping Kids: 5-year old Singing Sensation Kaitlyn Maher To Perform".
  8. Garman, Erica (December 4, 2008). "Ashburn's Kaitlyn Maher to Sing at National Christmas Tree Lighting(includes Harris Teeter commercial)". LoudounExtra/The Washington Post.
  9. "Indie Extreme Signs 5 Year Old Singing Sensation, Kaitlyn Maher". News. BREATHEcast. 2009-12-04. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  10. Kaitlyn Maher; You Were Meant To Be Amazon.com
  11. "Kaitlyn Maher - Disney's Next Star". Disney Dreaming. 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  12. "Twelve Things You Didn't Know About Kaitlyn Maher". KOL: Movies and TV. AOL. 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  13. "The Search for Santa Paws". Disney Movies. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  14. "Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups". Disney Movies. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  15. youtube Retrieved 2012-01-01.
  16. imdb.com Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  17. imdb.comRetrieved 2014-12-11.
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