Bianca Ryan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bianca Ryan
Bianca Ryan at the Hollystock Music and Arts Festival in Mount Holly, New Jersey, in August 2015
Background information
Birth name	Bianca Taylor Ryan
Born	(1994-09-01) September 1, 1994 (age 30) Ocean City, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres	Pop neo soul R&B
Occupation(s)	Musician singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Syco Music/Columbia Music Forever Tuned in Music and Media Bianca Ryan Records, LLC

Bianca Taylor Ryan (born September 1, 1994) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. She is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bianca became famous as the first winner of NBC's TV show America's Got Talent. She won the show when she was just eleven years old.

During the competition, Bianca sang two Broadway songs. She was announced as the winner of season one on August 17, 2006. Her first album, called Bianca Ryan, came out later that year. She then released two Christmas albums. Two more songs, called singles, followed in 2007 and 2010.

After taking a break to finish school, Bianca recorded a cover of the John Legend song "All of Me". She shared the video on her YouTube channel in March 2014. Her own song, "Alice", was released in May 2015. After some health challenges, Bianca released her single "One Day" in May 2017. Since then, she has written and released other songs like "Man Down" and "Remember". Her music collection, called an EP, titled The Reintroduction, Pt. 1, came out in January 2019. In November 2020, she released a second Christmas EP.

Bianca Ryan has also acted in movies. She was in the film 12 and Holding (2005). She also played the main character in a music video for The Wrecking in 2010. The independent film We Are Kings came out in 2014. In this movie, Bianca played one of two young musicians who get help from an angel. They try to save an older blues musician. Bianca helped write many of the songs for the film. The music video for her song "Broken Down House" was released in October 2014.

Early Life and Discovering Her Voice

Bianca Ryan is the second of five children. Her parents are Shawn and Janette Ryan. They moved from New Jersey to Philadelphia when Bianca was three years old. Her father, a big fan of The Rolling Stones, named her after Mick Jagger's ex-wife. Bianca says she is a mix of Japanese, Irish, Italian, German, and Cherokee backgrounds. She calls herself "basically just America... the melting pot."

Her family was surprised by Bianca's singing talent. As a child, she was an award-winning tap dancer. Bianca said she did not try to sing until she was eight years old. Then she started enjoying LeAnn Rimes and country music. Shawn Ryan began sharing his music collection with his daughter. Bianca "fell in love" with rhythm and blues and soul music. Soon, she started practicing singing with her father every night.

Bianca convinced her father to take her to an audition for Star Search. Her performance of "Think" amazed the judges and shocked her father. He said, "I'd never heard her sing like that." During the Junior Singers competition, Bianca Ryan lost to Spensha Baker. Later, Ryan won Amateur Kids Night on Showtime at the Apollo.

Bianca has sung the Star-Spangled Banner for many professional sports teams. These include the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Knicks, and the New York Mets.

Winning America's Got Talent

In 2006, Bianca Ryan found out that American Idol judge Simon Cowell was producing a new show. It was called America's Got Talent. The auditions in New York City were on the same day as a family trip. Bianca almost left without trying out. She saw other contestants, like a lady with a long beard juggling torches. She decided to stay when her father told her the grand prize was US$1 million.

For her TV audition, she sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the musical Dreamgirls. Her powerful voice surprised everyone. The video of her audition quickly became very popular online.

In the semi-finals, Bianca performed "Piece of My Heart". The judges liked her performance but felt the song wasn't quite right for her. She did much better in the finals, singing "I Am Changing" (also from Dreamgirls). Judge David Hasselhoff called her "the best" in the competition. Piers Morgan predicted she would win. On August 17, 2006, 11-year-old Bianca Ryan was announced as the winner. This was for season one of America's Got Talent.

Bianca made a short appearance during the show's second season finale in 2007. She wished good luck to the top two finalists in a video.

Music Career

Early Albums and Tours

Bianca performing during the Nextfest Tour in July 2007

One week after winning America's Got Talent, Bianca announced she was meeting with record labels. She also met with top songwriters. The Northeast Times reported that she met with Grammy Award-winning producer David Foster.

Bianca signed a five-album record deal with Sycomusic, part of Columbia Records, on September 18, 2006. She was the first American artist to sign with SYCOmusic. Simon Cowell said Bianca was "potentially one of the best singers I have ever heard." The next month, Bianca recorded her first CD in Los Angeles. Her self-titled album came out on November 14, 2006. It included covers of "The Rose" and "I Believe I Can Fly". It also had original songs like "I Wish That" and "Pray for a Better Day".

Eight days later, her album reached No. 57 on the Billboard album charts. Critics praised her strong voice and charm. Matt Collar of AllMusic said her voice was "truly impressive." Sandra Barrera of Los Angeles Daily News wrote that Bianca handled the songs "like the old pro that her big, powerful voice makes you think she is."

A month later, a short music collection called Christmas Everyday! was released as a free gift. Bianca then joined other artists for a TV Christmas performance in 2006. This event was for President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. It helped the Children's National Medical Center.

Bianca's first concert tour took her across the United States in 2007. She was a special guest artist for Nextfest. That August, she released the song "That's Not Me".

In 2008, Bianca left SYCOmusic/Columbia Records. She released her second Christmas EP, True Meaning of Christmas, on November 3, 2009. This was on the indie label Music Forever. This collection included new versions of "The Christmas Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". The main song featured a duet with gospel pop singer Brent Jones.

New Music and Videos

Bianca performs at the 2015 Hollystock Music and Arts Festival in Mount Holly, New Jersey

In 2010, Bianca Ryan wrote and recorded a song called "In My Head". It was inspired by the movie Twilight: New Moon. The song was released online on August 21. She then performed at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In October 2012, Bianca talked about her music. She said she didn't get to choose the songs for her first album. She learned a lot from working with people like David Foster. But she said, "I didn't feel like it was really me." She added, "You can relate to songs that you write."

Bianca spent much of her teenage years away from the public eye. In 2014, she explained that she paused her career to go back to school. She wanted to "live a life, and have purpose and things to write about" because she loves writing music. Bianca describes her music style as a mix of neo soul, R&B, and pop.

In February 2014, Bianca announced she was working on a new EP. It would feature her own songs. She started her own record label, Bianca Ryan Records LLC. This allowed her more artistic freedom and a chance to earn more from her music. She also started working on her YouTube channel again in 2014. Her cover of "All of Me" was uploaded in March.

In 2015, Bianca made a music video for "Alice", a song she wrote years earlier. The video was partly funded by a Kickstarter project. It was released in May 2015. The video features dancer Chloe Lukasiak. The song was released through Bianca's own label on iTunes, Google Play, and ReverbNation. Her cover of "God Bless the Child" was released in July.

Bianca performed at the Hollystock Music and Arts Festival in Mount Holly, New Jersey, in August 2015. In November, she performed at the Macy's Christmas Window unveiling and the 6ABC/Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Parade in Philadelphia.

Her plans were put on hold in October 2016 due to some health challenges. She needed several surgeries. Her first performance after getting better was at the Nashville Christmas Parade on December 3. Bianca's song "One Day" was released in May 2017. Two more songs, "What I Gotta Do" and "Man Down", came out in June. "Man Down" was called "the ultimate breakup anthem." Also in June, Major League Baseball featured Bianca in an artist profile.

Bianca planned to release two EPs in 2017, but her plans were delayed. Instead, she released singles. These included "Don't Wanna Come Down" in October, and "Remember" in May 2018. The video for "Remember" used old family videos.

In 2018, Bianca performed at the Houpalooza Music Festival in Houston, Texas. This was part of the Women's Empowerment Movement Tour. Nick Cannon was a co-host. Bianca also joined season six winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. for his Christmas Tour in December.

The Reintroduction, Pt. 1 was released on January 6, 2019. Her song "They Wanna Be Us Now" went on sale the next day. The video for this song was filmed in Los Angeles. It features America's Got Talent alumnus Merrick Hanna and Zoephia Decker-Knealing as a young Bianca.

In November 2020, Bianca released the Christmas EP What the World Needs Now Is Love. It had six songs, including the title track. It also had a new version of "Why Couldn't it Be Christmas Every Day?". Dance Moms star Lilliana Ketchman appeared in a series of music videos for the holiday season.

Return to America's Got Talent

In October 2018, Bianca Ryan announced she would compete in America's Got Talent: The Champions. This show featured 50 winners and finalists from Got Talent shows around the world. Bianca was the first act to perform on the first episode. She sang "Say Something" and received a standing ovation. The judges praised Bianca for overcoming her challenges. Simon Cowell said she helped make the show successful. Two acts made it to the finals: Susan Boyle and Preacher Lawson. Bianca finished second in the fan voting to Preacher Lawson.

Bianca was a guest performer during the first live results show of AGT's 14th Season. She performed with contortionist Sofie Dossi, violinist Brian King Joseph, and magician Shin Lim. Bianca released her song "Plastic Lovers" on the same day.

Broadway Stage

Bianca Ryan sang in the 2017 Broadway show "Home For the Holidays". It ran from November 17 to December 30 at the August Wilson Theatre. Other singers included American Idol season 12 winner Candice Glover and The Voice season six winner Josh Kaufman. Kaitlyn Bristowe was the host.

Some reviews of the show were not very positive. However, critics often praised Bianca's "impressive vocals" even if they noted occasional pitch issues.

Acting Roles

Bianca at the 2014 premiere of We Are Kings, her first co-starring role in a feature film

Bianca Ryan tried out for acting roles early in her career. She auditioned for projects like Camp Rock and Hannah Montana. Her first appearance was in the 2005 film 12 and Holding. Her character sings the last line of "Oh! Susanna" at a school event. Five years later, she played the main role in the music video for "About to Fall" by The Wrecking.

In 2012, Bianca joined the cast of We Are Kings. This was an independent film. She played one of two homeless musicians. They team up with a runaway rapper to help an older bluesman. Bianca and her co-stars wrote their own songs for the movie. Her first song from the film, "Broken Down House", was released in November 2014.

When the film was released, LA Weekly praised Bianca and her co-stars for being "bursting with talent." The Los Angeles Times praised the "soulful authenticity" of the music. Bianca admitted in 2014 that she could use an acting coach. In 2017, she said she had grown up and would like to try acting again.

Health Challenges

In 2016, Bianca had two surgeries on her vocal cords and one on her abdomen. A doctor told her she had a high risk for a serious health issue. One of her vocal cords was not working properly. She was told she might never sing again. But the surgery was successful, and she felt like she had a "new" voice. The second surgery was for blood vessels on her vocal cords. This surgery was also successful. Being out of the public eye during these challenges made her feel like people were forgetting about her.

Her song "One Day" was supposed to be released in 2016. But Bianca changed the lyrics after her surgeries and other difficulties. She said, "I can finally say it is my story."

Discography

Studio albums

• Bianca Ryan (2006)

Extended plays

• Christmas Everyday! (2006)
• True Meaning of Christmas (2009)
• The Reintroduction, Pt. 1 (2019)

Soundtrack albums

• We Are Kings (2014)

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Bianca Ryan para niños

• America's Got Talent (season 1)