Skylar Stecker is a young singer with a big, big voice.
She’s also one of our own. Stecker discovered the power of her voice as a third grader, when she auditioned for a Middleton school talent show. She’s come a long way since, with 280,000 subscribers on YouTube, a new deal with Cherrytree Records/Interscope (her debut full-length album is scheduled for September release) and a recurring role on the Disney Channel’s “Austin & Ally.”
She's also just 13, so it was a little scary to see her so slick and so polished Saturday evening, delighting around 700 fans at the Overture Center for the Arts; too many Disney-blessed starlets have later gone off the rails, notably Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan. Fingers crossed.
Stecker wrote or helped write all 10 songs in the show, which was, in a word, “sassy.” She tends toward first-person: “In My Way,” “Save Me Now,” “Keep Me Down.” And frankly, her voice is a marvel, with strength, strong support and vast range, with impressive sustaining power.
Musically, her songs are highly danceable, and there’s no question that she knows her audience. The Capitol Theater was full of spellbound tweens and patient parents, with a good supply of younger kids, too. Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan or his twin was in attendance.
There were no fancy sets or outlandish costumes, unless you consider tank tops and bare midriffs on Stecker and her peer dancers outlandish. Nor were there many moments of intimacy. An acoustic number would have been welcome and even fascinating. There was one soft ballad.
The closer, “Rooftop” was the most original, combining call-and-response with a Middle Eastern melody. As she grows — and she has a lot of time for that —Stecker will hopefully sample forms other than pop, and incorporate other rhythms and instrumentation into her sound. She’s been so blessed with vocal talent that she could even take on opera, if she wanted.
Maybe by the time she’s 15?
