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Hannah's News Story

Little singer leaps into LeAnn Rimes’ footsteps

By TERI BISHOP
Managing Editor

HOWE - Hannah Rogers took a giant leap into LeAnn Rimes’ footsteps last weekend. Last Saturday, the 5-year-old Howe singing sensation took the stage at Johnny High’s Music Revue in Arlington, the same stage on which Rimes started her career, and left with a standing ovation and a spot in the weekly show. She even sang one of Rimes’ songs, the very adult "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow," paying homage to her favorite performer and her role model. On her journey to follow in Rimes’ footsteps, Hannah has had help from some of those who also showed Rimes the ropes. She received tips from Rimes’ former coach and her own vocal instructor, Jill Brown of Sherman. "She was so good at the audition," said her mother, Kathleen Rogers of Howe. "I told her if she won this audition, she would get to ride in a limo. She loves limos because she saw LeAnn Rimes riding in one in Dallas. So, as soon as she came off of the stage at Johnny High’s, she said, ‘Can I ride in a gazebo now?' Perhaps a bit of the import of the moment was lost on the little girl, but not the overall effect. The already show-biz savvy youngster knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. Rimes, now 17, was 5 years old when she told her parents that she would be in show business someday. "When she was almost 3, she saw LeAnn Rimes in Dallas, and she said, ‘I’m going to do that.’ And I have no doubt that she will. We have told her that she can do anything she wants to do," Mrs. Rogers explained. That’s why Hannah chose two different tunes for the audition, which included about 350 participants. She also performed the long version ‘of "The Good Ship Lollipop," the original lyrics that The are not often heard. The eight judges — including LeAnn Rimes’ godmother, whose name was unavailable, and Johnny High’s wife — loved Hannah, and all of the audience members gave her a standing ovation at the Arlington Music Hall. She will return to the venue this Saturday, Jan. 13, to perform her first show with the revue. The show will start at 3 p.m. Plus, she will participate in a show at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, at Stark Auditorium at Grayson County College in Denison, where a Branson recruiter will be scouting for talent. Sweet and talented, Hannah won the Fall Festacular ‘Talent Competition in Denison last fall, outperforming all of the others in the 12-and-under’ age category. From that win, she garnered a guest spot in Denison’s Main Street Showcase, a weekly Saturday evening event.  Then, she performed at the Whitesboro Peanut Festival on Oct. 21 and the Howe Christmas in the Park celebration Dec. 3. She delighted her hometown neighbors at the celebration by singing "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" and showing off her two missing front pearly whites. Hannah’s father is Bill Rogers.