Arts & Entertainment
Watchung-Hills Student to Sing National Anthem at Patriots Stadium
Teen from Watchung Hills Regional High School, who auditioned for X-Factor, will sing at a Patriots Stadium baseball game
Warren, NJ -- It has been a passion for Peri Martins for as long as she can remember and now she will be singing center stage at Patriots Stadium in Bridgewater where she will sing the National Anthem in front of thousands of fans.
Martins, a 16-year-old from Warren, was selected as one of the winners from the Somerset Patriots’ National Anthem Auditions held at Menlo Park Mall in Edison on March 12. There were about 100 people who tried out.
“I actually was surprised that I won since so many people tried out,” Martins told Patch of winning the Patriots contest. “I heard a lot of people with really nice voices sing.”
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Martins chose to sing “Halo” by Beyonce. Each contestant had to sing a one-minute song in front of guests and judges.
This isn’t the first time the Watchung Hills Regional High School student has sung in front of a crowd. She is part of the school’s chorus and has sung as part of a school chorus since fifth grade.
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Yet her love for singing started way before that.
“No one in my family is musical at all,” Martins said. “I really have no idea where it came from.”
“When I was little I would listen to Annie the Musical and constantly sing it over and over again and would be screaming at top of lungs at 3 years old and know all words,” Martins said. “Ever since then always loved to sing. I always relied on it to make me feel better.”
Following her love of singing, Martins tried out for the TV show, X Factor, a couple of years ago and made it to the fourth round when she was in sixth grade.
“I feel like all of these experiences help me grow as a singer,” Martins said. “I have only gotten better and try so hard to keep going and going.”
Other selected singers are: Duane Patterson Jr. (Roselle), Tanasia Paige (Irvington), Scott Wilcox (Metuchen), Tom Fellin (Somerville), Tina Davis (Edison), Tukymah Madison (North Plainfield), Peri Martins (Warren), Sofia, Arthur, and Isabella Wawrzyniak (Morristown), Echo Picone (Washington), and Grace Griesler (Flemington).
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