FORT FRANCES — A youthful singer/songwriter from Fort Frances was understandably nervous when she stepped onto the Canada's Got Talent stage to be judged by the likes of Shania Twain and Howie Mandel.
"It was insane. My legs were shaking. It was surreal. I was looking at the judges like I was in virtual reality or something....It was the scariest but the best thing I've done in my entire life," said 14-year-old Cassandra Star Armstrong.
The Grade 9 student has been singing for years, and came into the limelight when she joined her older sister in a performance of Hallelujah that garnered millions of views in 2021.
Although the new season of Citytv's Canada's Got Talent has just hit the airwaves, the auditions happened last year.
Cassandra made it through the first round but did not advance to the semi-finals, and as of Tuesday the producers had not officially confirmed whether her audition will be shown on one of the broadcasts.
Nonetheless, the young woman is glad she had the chance to perform at such a high-profile event.
"I'm just so grateful because it was such an amazing experience. I've never done anything like that before. Honestly, talking to the judges before I sang was more nerve-wracking than singing ... you have no clue what they're going to ask you."
She said her interaction with the judging panel, however, turned out to be nothing but positive.
"God, to sing in front of Shania was insane because she's literally a Canadian legend. And everybody loves Howie. And Kardinal (Offishall) and Katherine (Ryan) are just amazing people."
Cassandra said she'll never forget the audition, and will always appreciate the fact she was invited.
"I've watched Britain's Got Talent, America's Got Talent, Canada's Got Talent, since I was so little. I've always dreamt about being on it. I told my mom I wanted to be on it some day. Being in such a small town, there are no big opportunities here, so being invited was insane. It's the biggest thing I've done in my life."
She said she still aims to be a professional performer some day, and feels the best way to get there is to attend one of the most renowned places in the world for a performing arts education, in New York City.
"It's a little bit farfetched, but my number one dream is, after high school, to go to The Juilliard School to double-major in music and acting, and then to be on Broadway."
For now, though, she's thankful for the encouragement she's getting from her community.
"It's the support from Fort Frances that's really gotten me to where I am today. I really just wanted to make my hometown proud, and make people know where Fort Frances is."
