Jackie Evancho

Jackie Evancho Bio

Jacqueline Marie Evancho, known professionally as Jackie Evancho, is an American classical-crossover singer and songwriter born on April 9, 2000, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She first attracted national attention in 2010 as the runner-up on the fifth season of NBC’s America’s Got Talent, when she was only ten years old, and she has since built a career as one of the most recognized young vocalists in the United States. With a pure, bell-like soprano, Evancho has released nine studio albums, a platinum-selling EP, and two additional EPs, and she has headlined concert tours, presented PBS specials, and performed at major civic, sporting, and political events.

Evancho became the youngest solo artist ever to go platinum in the United States with her 2010 holiday EP O Holy Night, and three of her records have debuted inside the top ten of the Billboard 200. She has been ranked the No. 1 Classical Albums Artist of 2011 by Billboard and has continued to record and tour into the 2020s, releasing the EP Solla in 2024. Beyond her recordings, she has also modeled, made occasional film and television appearances, and supported a wide range of charitable causes.

Early Life and Background

Jacqueline Marie Evancho was born on April 9, 2000, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Lisa and Michael Evancho. She grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh in a Catholic family, alongside an older sister named Juliet, a younger brother Zachary, and a younger sister Rachel. Her father operated a video security business until 2010, the year his daughter became a public figure.

Evancho began her education in the Pine-Richland School District and later attended Pine-Richland High School, from which she graduated in 2018. As her career expanded, she at times relied on online schooling to balance her studies with her performing schedule. She has continued to split her time between New York City and Pittsburgh.

Her early interest in music was sparked by the film version of the musical The Phantom of the Opera, which she watched as a young girl and then began singing at home. Her parents did not recognize that her voice was unusual until her first talent competition, which she entered just before her eighth birthday. She went on to take voice lessons, sing at churches, nursing homes, and community events in Pennsylvania, and start a YouTube channel where she posted performances. She also sang in the Children’s Festival Chorus of Pittsburgh and played the title role in a 2009 school musical version of Little Red Riding Hood.

Path to Music

Evancho’s pre-fame talent-competition circuit was a steady climb. In 2009, she placed second at the USA World Showcase Talent Competition in Las Vegas and was again runner-up at the Kean Idol contest, while also winning the Golden Ribby Award at WonderworldTV and the Talent Quest TV Show in Massachusetts. That same year she sang in composer Tim Janis’s PBS special “Celebrate America” and performed other concerts with Janis, who had noticed her on YouTube. In 2010 she sang The Star-Spangled Banner at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home opener, steadily building a public profile.

Record producer David Foster noticed Evancho in 2009. She was selected for the regional semifinals of his “Hitman Talent Search Contest,” where she finished as runner-up, and in October of that year she performed in the “David Foster & Friends” concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In November 2009 she independently released her debut album, Prelude to a Dream, a collection of classical-crossover covers. The album debuted at No. 121 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 2 on the Billboard Classical Albums chart in August 2010, after her appearance on America’s Got Talent; her parents later withdrew it, citing how much her voice had developed since it was recorded.

Her big break came on America’s Got Talent in 2010. After two earlier unsuccessful auditions, she was accepted onto the fifth season by placing first in the show’s 2010 YouTube competition. Her quarter-final performance of “O mio babbino caro” drew strong reactions, and she advanced through the rounds with performances of “Time to Say Goodbye,” “Pie Jesu,” and Gounod’s “Ave Maria.” At the season finale she sang “Time to Say Goodbye” with guest artist Sarah Brightman and was named the runner-up to singer Michael Grimm. The finale was AGT’s highest-rated episode in three years, and many viewers and commentators felt she should have won.

Jackie Evancho Career

Early Career (2009–2010)

Evancho’s first nationally available release was the Columbia Records EP O Holy Night, issued on November 16, 2010. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2, made her the top-selling debut artist of 2010 and the youngest solo artist ever to debut in the top ten, and debuted at No. 1 on the Classical Albums chart and No. 2 on the Holiday Albums chart. The EP sold 239,000 copies in its first week and was certified platinum by the RIAA, making Evancho the youngest solo artist ever to go platinum in the United States.

She promoted O Holy Night with a heavy television schedule, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, The View, Martha Stewart Living, Fox & Friends, NBC’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting special, the 2010 National Christmas Tree lighting in Washington, D.C., The Tonight Show, and the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on ABC. Billboard ranked O Holy Night at No. 1 on its 2011 year-end Classical Albums chart and as the No. 15 best-selling album of 2011 in the United States.

Breakthrough (2011–2014)

Evancho’s first full-length album, Dream with Me, was produced by David Foster for Sony and Syco Music and released on June 14, 2011. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, reached No. 1 on the Classical Albums chart, and was certified gold by the RIAA, while also making her the youngest artist ever to debut in the UK top five. The album featured pop songs, classical arias, original material, and duets with Barbra Streisand and Susan Boyle.

Her 2011 PBS Great Performances special Dream With Me In Concert, recorded at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and hosted by David Foster, became the most broadcast program of the year on PBS and one of the most viewed specials in the history of the Great Performances series. She promoted the album with an 18-performance U.S. tour with orchestras, and in November 2011 she became the youngest person ever to sing a solo concert at Lincoln Center, performing at Avery Fisher Hall. She closed 2011 with her holiday album Heavenly Christmas, which entered the Classical Albums chart at No. 1 and was ranked the No. 4 best-selling Classical Album of 2011 by Billboard.

In 2012, Evancho released Songs from the Silver Screen, an album of film music arranged by Bill Ross and featuring collaborations with Joshua Bell, Chris Botti, and The Canadian Tenors. It debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on the Classical Albums chart, making the 12-year-old only the second artist ever to amass three top-ten Billboard 200 albums at such a young age. A companion PBS special, Jackie Evancho: Music of the Movies, supported a 42-stop tour that ran through mid-2013, including a 2013 Carnegie Hall benefit and her screen debut in Robert Redford’s 2012 political thriller The Company You Keep.

Notable Works and Milestones

Among Evancho’s signature releases are the platinum EP O Holy Night, the gold-certified Dream with Me, the film-song collection Songs from the Silver Screen, the 2014 Sony Masterworks album Awakening (which stayed on the Billboard Classical Albums chart for 72 consecutive weeks), Two Hearts (2017, her seventh consecutive Classical Albums No. 1), The Debut (2019, her eighth consecutive Classical Albums No. 1), and Carousel of Time (2022), an album of Joni Mitchell covers. She has also made three PBS concert specials, performed at high-profile events including the first presidential inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017, and was the youngest solo artist ever to go platinum in the United States.

Jackie Evancho Award Nominations

Evancho has received a range of public and industry recognition across her career. In 2017 she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list of musicians, and in 2011 and 2012 Billboard magazine included her on its “21 Under 21: Music’s Hottest Minors” list. She has also been featured in critical and academic studies, including a 2016 book on girlhood in popular music, and she appeared as a contestant on the 2019 edition of America’s Got Talent: The Champions, though she did not advance to the final.

Jackie Evancho Awards Won

Evancho has earned notable recognition for her artistry and conduct. In 2011 she was named one of the National League of Junior Cotillions’ “Ten Best-Mannered People of 2011” for demonstrating humility and politeness as a young performer. In 2012 she was honored by the Senator John Heinz History Center at its 20th Annual History Makers Award Dinner as one of five distinguished Pittsburghers, becoming the youngest person ever to receive the award. The Kean Quest Talent Search has also given an annual “Jackie Evancho Award” since 2011 to a contestant who exemplifies courage and motivation.

Jackie Evancho Family

Evancho was raised in a Catholic family in suburban Pittsburgh by her parents, Lisa Evancho and Michael Evancho. She has an older sister, Juliet, a younger brother, Zachary, and a younger sister, Rachel. Her sister Juliet, who is transgender, has been a public advocate for federal protections for transgender students, and in 2017 Evancho led a TLC television special called “Growing Up Evancho” that focused on her family’s life and those efforts. Evancho has also supported several charitable causes tied to her family, including the release of Together We Stand in January 2017, with proceeds directed to LGBT charities in support of her sister.

Personal Life

Evancho has spoken openly about personal challenges that affected her career. She has stated that her career was interrupted by a mental breakdown related to an eating disorder and body dysmorphia she has struggled with since 2015, and in January 2021 she was in a car accident in which she fractured her back and was also diagnosed with osteoporosis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her parents divorced. She continues to split her time between New York City and Pittsburgh, and she remains active as a recording and touring artist.