« on: July 28, 2010, 05:12:28 PM »
Amazing Voice: 7-Year-Old Gospel Singer Belts Whitney And Celine SongsPosted Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:00pm PDT by Billy Johnson, Jr.
We hope Jennifer Aniston doesn't get jealous, but there's a new, younger woman in Gerard Butler's life, and she can sing, too.
Earlier this month, Rhema Marvanne, a 7-year-old gospel singer from Carrollton, Texas, taped a scene in Butler's new film Machine Gun Preacher. In the movie Butler plays a drug dealer-turned-crusader on a mission to save kids. "During his baptism, Rhema is actually singing 'Amazing Grace' at that pillar moment [Butler] goes from a bad guy to a good guy and then goes to South Africa to save all the little kids from the war," said Teton Voaritskul, Rhema's dad.
"It felt great," Rhema said about making her theatrical debut. "It felt like God is really proud of me and he's smiling right at me."
YouTube videos of Rhema performing "Amazing Grace," "O Holy Night," Celine Dion's "The Prayer" with Terry White, and Whitney Houston's "I Love The Lord" have generated more than a million streams. People searching for holiday music found Rhema's "O Holy Night" in December and sparked hundreds of thousands of plays. The Maury Povich Show contacted Rhema's father to feature her on its Most Talented Kids 2010, and Korean show Star King also booked her as a guest.
Rhema began singing when she learned to speak. Her mother, Wendi Marvanne, who was a local gospel singer, died of ovarian cancer in 2008. She often sang with Rhema and rehearsed plays. As a tribute to her mother, Rhema will focus on gospel music. "Out of my love for [my wife] and out of respect for her wishes I thought Rhema has incredible singing skills and talent, I wanted to do something she would be happy with and follow in her footsteps," Voaritskul said.
Rhema said her mother and Houston are her favorite singers, but Dion's classical "The Prayer" with Andrea Bocelli was her toughest vocal hurdle. "It's actually the hardest song I've ever sung before," she said. "I actually like it. It's a great song."
Major record labels have been calling Voaritskul to discuss potential record deals, but her father is not making any hasty decisions. "Our focus is not trying to see how big we can be or how much money we can make," he said. "We just want to try to produce something that represents Rhema and something that goes along with our mission and ministry. If we find someone who can accommodate that or is willing to work with that or wants to do that, if it's a good fit, we will definitely consider it."
Rhema is currently working on a gospel album, a Christmas album, and taking on singing dates across the nation. She released her six-track, self-titled debut in May.