Anna Graceman was born in Juneau, Alaska, to a poor family.[7] Her mother played classical music to her before she was born, and at three months old, her parents displayed flashcards for her to read and gain word association, sparking her love of songwriting.[7] By the time she was 18 months old, she had memorized the lyrics of many classical and modern tunes. Graceman could play piano by age four[8] and wrote her first song, "So I Cried", when she was six years old.[9] Graceman has cited her mom as one of her biggest musical influences.[10]
2009–2010: Career beginnings
Graceman's parents began uploading videos of Graceman singing when she was six or seven years old. When Graceman's original song "Paradise" was uploaded in August 2009—when she was nine years old—a YouTube producer featured her in a group of child musicians.[11][12] The video then caught the attention of Ellen DeGeneres, who invited Graceman to sing "Paradise" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2009.[13][11][12][14] During that episode, DeGeneres invited Graceman to meet Taylor Swift on a subsequent show.[15]
On April 20, 2010, Graceman played at the 36th Alaska Folk Festival along with other folk and bluegrass bands. A local reviewer stated, "There were several sets where the young and gifted stole the show, making me realize I was watching Juneau's version of "Who's Got Talent" – particularly when 10-year-old Anna Graceman sang all her original songs."[16]
In the Vegas round, Graceman performed "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele, again playing the keyboard. In the quarterfinals, she performed "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, which earned her enough votes to qualify for the semifinals.[12] Her self-accompanied performance of "Home Sweet Home" by Mötley Crüe in the semifinals earned her another standing ovation from the judges and a spot in the top 10.[12][20][21] The performance caught the attention of Nikki Sixx, Mötley Crüe's bassist, who called it "so cute".[22]
Graceman sang "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper for her top 10 performance, but for the first time on the show, she performed without the keyboard.[19] She finished in the bottom five of the top ten, failing to make the finals.[23]
Following her elimination, Graceman participated in America's Got Talent Live in late October 2011 along with other season six favorites, including Landon Swank, Team iLuminate, and winner Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr.[24] At the request of Caesars Palace, she returned to the Colosseum for the following New Year's Eve concert.[25]
2012–2015: Solo work after America's Got Talent
In 2012, Disney approached Graceman and requested the right to non-exclusively license her early original YouTube videos, which can be found in the video section of Disney's website.[26]
On August 28, 2014, Graceman performed at the first YouTube Music Night at the YoutubeSpaceLA facilities in Los Angeles.[31][32] A few months later, she performed at the YouTube Music Night at the Pinewood Social Event Center in downtown Nashville.[33][34]
2016–present: Graceman Band and Songland
Graceman was featured in Relix's September 2016 issue, where they wrote, "This is hardly a run-of-the-mill adolescence, Graceman has stayed grounded through it all, remembering where she came from and how it all started.".[35][36]
Anna, Allie, and Landon Graceman, 2016
In 2016, Graceman formed Graceman Band with her younger siblings, Allie and Landon Graceman.[30][37][38][39] The band's style of music incorporates elements of folk, soul, and rock.[40] Its members are:[30][39]
Anna Graceman – lead vocals, piano, keyboard, bass
Allie Graceman – guitar, backing vocals
Landon Graceman – drums, percussion
On September 21, 2016, Anna Graceman and her band appeared on NBC to promote the second annual Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival in Franklin, Tennessee, alongside renowned musicians such as The Struts and Kacey Musgraves.[41][42] A couple of weeks later, Anna Graceman released the band's first full-length album, Rebel Days, written and produced by Anna Graceman.[43]
On June 1, 2020, Graceman appeared on NBC's show Songland. The episode featured recording artist Bebe Rexha, who combined Graceman's song with that of fellow contestant Greg Scott and chose the song as the episode's winner. The song was recorded by Rexha and used by NBC to promote the Tokyo Olympics.[44]
On May 29, 2020, Graceman released her studio album The Way The Night Behaves through her independent label, Another Girl Records.[45][46]
In 2023, Anna Graceman and her band collaborated with Ryan Corn on "A Little Wild".[39]
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