LAKESIDE — Eight-year-old Trevor Payne sang the Star-Spangled Banner at the San Diego County Fair the morning of July 1.
The lifelong Lakeside resident, who will be in third grade at Lakeside Farms Elementary School when the 2012-13 academic year commences, sang the national anthem during the daily raising of the flag at the county fair.
Payne and his family recorded a demo CD of him singing the national anthem and submitted it to the 22nd District Agricultural Association.
LAKESIDE — Eight-year-old Trevor Payne sang the Star-Spangled Banner at the San Diego County Fair the morning of July 1.
The lifelong Lakeside resident, who will be in third grade at Lakeside Farms Elementary School when the 2012-13 academic year commences, sang the national anthem during the daily raising of the flag at the county fair.
Payne and his family recorded a demo CD of him singing the national anthem and submitted it to the 22nd District Agricultural Association.
They subsequently received an e-mail that he was one of 24 selected to sing the national anthem.
They were given a choice of several dates and chose a Sunday so that his family would not need to take time off from work to be at the fair that day.
Payne’s mother, Erin, has been in bands since 1998 and was in the West Coast Pin-Ups when she was pregnant with Trevor.
When Trevor was between three and six months old Erin would hum and Trevor would hum back in the same key. “He would mimic it precisely,” Erin said.
Trevor Payne combined music and words in his early childhood. “He was always singing with the TV shows,” Erin said. “When he hears a song he likes I can hear him teaching himself the words when the song’s playing.”
Neither of Payne’s two sisters had that interest in singing. Danielle Payne, who turned 22 on June 25, has never sung outside of her family. Jenna Payne, who is 17, recently auditioned with her mother for “The Voice” and thus made her singing debut with strangers listening.
Payne’s short baseball career began with T-ball at the age of four, but he lost interest the following year due to problems hitting the ball when it wasn’t on the tee.
His mother gave him a choice of baseball or singing, and he chose singing. He started with the Singing Solo program when he was six.
Payne has been singing the Star-Spangled Banner in public for just over a year. His first performance was with a University of San Diego
women’s basketball game, and he has sung prior to USD and San Diego State basketball and volleyball games and San Diego State club hockey games.
Payne performed with Singing Solo at last year’s San Diego County Fair.
Singing Solo teacher Kathy Horeth now lives in Temecula and the group’s activities are being phased out.
Singing Solo, including Payne, will likely close out its existence at the Orange County Fair in late July.
