Young singer makes NYC theater debut

Mia Soleil Sanchez, 13, of Franklin will make her New York theater debut Saturday, Dec. 14.

Last summer, she impressed “America’s Got Talent” judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel during auditions, which aired July 16 on NBC.

Mia auditioned with her rendition of the Billie Eilish song “Happier Than Ever” and received four “yes” votes from the judges.

She has been singing since she was a toddler and began performing in front of audiences at age 5.

She has been sung the National Anthem at New York Red Bulls soccer and New Jersey Devils hockey games.

She also has performed four times at the Apollo Theater in New York City as well as at many local events and competitions.

Mia will play Logan in the New York premiere of “The Great Christmas Cookie Bake-Off” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Laurie Beechman Theater, 407 W. 42nd St., Manhattan.

The new musical is by Rick Hip-Flores, who has worked as a musical director on Broadway and currently is associate music supervisor for “MJ: The Musical” worldwide.

Network appearance

“America’s Got Talent” was not on Mia’s radar.

She had uploaded a video of herself singing the Olivia Rodrigo song “Vampires” to her YouTube channel, and one of the show’s casting directors reached out and asked if she wanted to be on the show.

At the time, Mia was going on auditions for Disney and was a top candidate for a couple of the shows so she turned down the offer.

Two of the Disney roles fell through and the “America’s Got Talent” casting directors called again and asked if she wanted to audition with the music team in New York.

After that audition, in which about 70,000 people took part, Mia was selected along with a couple hundred people to audition in front of the celebrity judges in California.

In March, she flew there with her parents and her vocal coach, Elisa Girlando.

During two full days on the set, she had interviews and meetings. Mia worked with the music team to select the right song. On the second day, she performed the Eilish song in front of the celebrity judges.

After her performance, Mandel said, “I love everything about you, and I think America and the world will love you too.”

Klum said she sounded so good on the stage and is very gutsy.

Vergara called her a star.

Cowell said, “You know what’s cool is that you kind of grew with the song and that’s not easy. That means you got great taste, you know where you’re going so I really, really, really like this audition.”

The four “yes” votes allowed her to advance to the next round of the competition.

In the deliberations round, which was not televised, the judges and producers select who will make it to the live shows. Mia was eliminated during that round.

She said that from that experience, she learned how to be a performer, work with producers and interview as well as about how the industry works.

“It’s a competition and to even be asked was an amazing opportunity.”

Plans for album

She is a super fan of Rodrigo and wants to take the same career path.

Her dream is to work in television, music and theater.

She has been recording her own music, performing, and auditioning for Broadway and local theater show, TV sitcoms and movies.

She plans to release an album with many songs that she wrote with her father, Aldo Sanchez.

The first song is a ballad titled “Friends,” which she co-wrote with her cousin Abigail. The second is a pop-rock song titled “Peanut Butter and Jealous.”

Steve Vargas of Elisa Girlando Studios is the house producer of the album.

When she is not performing, Mia enjoys dancing, hanging out with her friends and performing in school plays.

She also likes learning new instruments. She can play the ukulele and piano and wants to learn the electric guitar.