Jacqueline Marie \'Jackie\' Evancho (born April 9, 2000) is a young soprano from Richland Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who gained international fame after a performance for America\'s Got Talent. Evancho sings in the \'classical crossover\' style of singers such as Hayley Westenra and Sarah Brightman. She studies singing with a voice coach, and also plays the violin and piano.
On November 1, 2009, Evancho released her debut album called Prelude to a Dream. The album features mainly covers of songs such as Andrea Bocelli\'s \'Con Te Partiro\' and \'The Prayer\', Josh Groban\'s \'To Where You Are\', Martina McBride\'s \'Concrete Angel\', and a cover of \"Amazing Grace\" among others. Schubert\'s \'Ave Maria\' heard on the album is not the original song, which is set to a secular text in German, instead, it\'s an arrangement of the Roman Catholic setting of the \'Hail Mary\' prayer in Latin. The album debuted on The Billboard 200 at #121 on the chart dated August 28, 2010. It also debuted at #2 on Billboard Classical Albums Chart.
On August 10, 2010, on America\'s Got Talent, Evancho performed O Mio Babbino Caro by Giacomo Puccini. The aria is also on her debut album. She received a standing ovation after her performance, and was awarded a trip to Universal Studios in Florida for receiving the most fan votes from the submissions to the show from Y.o.u.t.u.b.e. She was then voted into the semifinals by viewers.