From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Mon Jun 22 2009 - 19:15:32 EDT
Tuesday, 6/23/2009 1:13 am
The next Jackson Five?: Renton's EriAm Sisters featured on NBC's
'America's Got Talent' video
Today, 4:00 PM . UPDATED
With an upcoming appearance on the NBC show "America's Got Talent,"
Renton's EriAm Sisters are getting ever closer to becoming the nation's
next young singing sensation.
Their fans simply need to decide which young singing sensation the
sisters most resemble: Destiny's Child or The Jackson Five.
The girl's father, Mulugheta Abraham, says Destiny's Child. NBC says
Jackson Five.
The sisters will play a benefit concert for Communities in Schools of
Renton on Friday.
NBC.com's video clip of the day today (Monday) is the EriAm Sisters
performing the Jackson Five hit "I want you back."
Written under the clip is a question.
"Could the new 'Jackson Five' be an all-girl trio?"
The clip is a preview for the fourth season of "America's Got Talent,"
the all-ages talent show that starts Tuesday and runs through September.
The video was shot in April during the Seattle auditions for "America's
Got Talent."
Will the EriAm Sisters make it past the audition phase and into the
phase Abraham calls "the torturous process of elimination?"
Abraham knows that answer but is sworn to secrecy until the results are
revealed on the show. That revelation for the EriAm Sisters could be
Tuesday night, or next Tuesday, or the Tuesday after that...
Pre-recorded footage of the cross-country auditions will air until
August, when the live, elimination portion of the show begins.
"If tomorrow they're not on there, we're still stuck," Abraham says.
With 10s of thousands of fans (that's the number of hits on their
MySpace page and YouTube videos), the EriAm Sisters could very well be
talented enough to be selected as one of the 40-some groups to make it
past the audition phase of the hit show.
The trio - Haben, 11, Salina, 14, and Lianda, 15, - has garnered serious
attention from music industry big wigs and has already released its
first single. The sisters have also performed at a variety of community
events.
The trio's youngest performer, Haben, has performed solo at events
across the country and finished fourth on "The Maury Show's" "America's
Most Talented Singing Kid" competition last spring.
But "America's Got Talent" is the sisters' biggest gig yet. The grand
prize is $1 million, plus almost-certain record deals and other perks.
Abraham and his wife Tiblets, both musical themselves, have always
recognized their daughters' talent. But they are thrilled that national
television is beginning to follow their lead. A talent scout invited the
girls to the "America's Got Talent" Seattle audition.
Being selected for "America's Got Talent" would be a "huge recognition"
for the EriAm Sisters, Abraham says - a recognition that he says would
"hopefully open doors for them down the road."
Even if the EriAm Sisters fall short on "America's Got Talent," they
always have Plan A: releasing their first CD, which they've already
recorded.
"If this goes nowhere, we can go back to Plan A," Abraham says. "But
this can only help. Whether they make it or not, it's going be really
helpful for them."
"Just to be featured on NBC.com is a huge exposer," Abraham adds.
Meet the EriAm Sisters
The EriAm Sisters are Haben, 11, Salina, 14, and Lianda, 15. Haben
attends Dimmitt Middle School and Salina and Lianda go to Aviation High
School in Seattle. The trio lives in Renton with their parents Mulugheta
and Tiblets, who are from Eritrea, a country in East Africa. EriAm
stands for Eritrean-American. For more information about the girls,
visit their Web site at www.eriamsisters.com.
See them live
The EriAm Sisters will perform a benefit concert for Communities in
Schools of Renton at Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center from 7 p.m.-8:30
p.m. on June 26. Breaking Point Dance Company will also perform at the
concert.
Tickets are $20. For tickets, call 425-204-2408 or e-mail
gail.burton@rentonschools.us CISR supports families and students with
mentor and family liaison programs.
Buy their first single
The EriAm Sisters have released their first single. Called "My BFF" the
song is available on iTunes, Amazon.com and Napster.
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ren/news/48807692.html
The EriAm sisters are, from left, Salina, 14, Lianda, 15, and Haben,11.
- Adam J. Weintraub
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