In The Beginning

In 2003, Ryan (at age nine) persuaded her father to allow her to compete on Star Search; her participation ended when she earned 12 stars from the judges to 13 stars for Spensha Baker. When young Tiffany Evans won the competition, Ryan's father decided to send her to Evans' coach, Sal Dupree, for vocal lessons. Ryan also has appeared on Showtime at the Apollo and The Tom Joyner Show.

Ryan has performed at several notable venues, including Madison Square Garden and Lincoln Financial Field. Since age eight, Ryan has been the regular anthemist for the semi-professional Philadelphia Growl inline hockey team. She also has sung the national anthem for the New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, New York Rangers, Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Eagles professional sports teams.

Ryan's television work includes commercials for the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain and the Philadelphia Zoo. She also played "Singing Girl" in the Michael Cuesta-directed feature film 12 and Holding.

America's Got Talent

When Ryan auditioned for America's Got Talent, she chose the Dreamgirls showtune "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (originally performed by Jennifer Holliday), surprising the audience and the judges with her powerful voice. Brandy gave Ryan a standing ovation and called her "my favorite contestant in this competition." Piers Morgan, critical of Ryan's appearance, told her to change her hair, dress and shoes, "and you will win this tournament. � You came on this stage, and you blew us away!" David Hasselhoff called Ryan "a star" and called for the audience to "get on your feet for this girl!"

Ryan's first appearance on Talent became one of the most popular videos on YouTube, an online video archive that was, at the time, partly owned by NBC.

Ryan sang "Piece of My Heart" (barefoot, a` la Janis Joplin) at the semifinals, but none of the judges was impressed with Ryan's musical choice; Brandy said, "You were born to do this, (but) I liked the song selection better the first time," while Hasselhoff felt that style was "not going to get you through (the competition)." Morgan was tougher still, telling Ryan that she "nearly blew it tonight � play to your limit, don't try too hard, or it will show." Still, she was announced as the viewers' choice that week and moved on into the finale round and a chance at the US$1 million prize.

For her finale song�coached by gospel singer Yolanda Adams, who said there was little she could teach Ryan that she did not already possess�Ryan returned to Dreamgirls and the Holliday number "I Am Changing". Following the performance, Morgan praised Ryan for her appearance and song choice, saying "I think you're going to win the competition." Hasselhoff said she reminded him of Liza Minnelli and how she "affects people, and makes them get up and makes them feel things," and told Ryan, "you truly are the best in this competition."

The show's finale results aired on August 17, 2006, during which Ryan was announced as the winner of the first season of the show. The announcement left her in shock (when asked by host Regis Philbin how she felt, Ryan said, "I don't even know!"), brought Hasselhoff to his feet and moved Brandy to tears; Morgan later told WCAU (NBC10, Philadelphia) that "the most talented person won."
 

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