聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Singer Teagan Littlechief has sung anthems for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders and the WHL's Regina Pats - and now she can add the NHL's Calgary Flames to her roster.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Littlechief - of White Bear First Nations - recently wowed the crowd at the over 19,000-seat Scotiabank Saddledome, as she sang 'O Canada' prior to the September 20 Calgary Flames-Vancouver Canucks game.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Littlechief was selected to sing the national anthem as part of the Calgary Flames Backup Anthem Singer Search, Sept. 19-20, and says she was the only competitor from outside the Calgary area.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淎 (Saskatchewan) Roughrider fan who saw me sing at a Riders game in Regina tagged me in a post about this contest on Facebook,鈥� says Littlechief. 鈥淪o I sent them an audition tape. They told me I had to be prepared to sing both the Canadian and U.S. national anthems and I had to be prepared to sing with an organist.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚 only found out two weeks prior to the competition that I was going.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 In Calgary, the aspiring anthem singers were mentored by the Flames' full-time anthem singer, Canadian country music star, George Canyon, who said he was 鈥渂lown away鈥� by Littlechief's powerful voice.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淕eorge was our mentor,鈥� says Littlechief. 鈥淎nd he was really nice and really helpful. There were both male and female singers and we were split into two groups.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚 did a live audition without backing music, then a live audition with music and at the end of the whole process, a Flames official tracked me down and asked me to sing at the game the next night.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淎s a Flames fan, it was awesome just to wear their jersey,鈥� she says. 鈥淚'm a diehard Calgary Flames fan. And when I stepped out on the ice, I realized I was just a few feet away from their goalie, Jon Gilles. I was the only singer who made the drive - everyone else was from around Calgary - but I'm so glad I did. It was an amazing experience.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Littlechief says that she is gaining confidence as a stadium singer.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚 was scared, but when I walked out onto the ice in front of those thousands of fans in the Saddledome, I also realized that it was just like when I sang for the Regina Pats during their playoffs against Seattle.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭he more experience you get, the more confident and comfortable you are,鈥� says Littlechief. 鈥淏ut I'll never take opportunities like this for granted, either. I still get shaky and nervous, but it's positive nerves, so I'm good.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淎fter I sang, my mom (Sara Littlechief) and my son, Gabriel watched the game,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e sat near some people who have been season ticket holders for the past 20 years and they said they wished they had a singer like me. People were so nice. Someone else asked me if the Flames could just keep me as a singer.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚'd love to be their anthem singer.鈥�
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