Nine years of age seems to be a little early in a person’s life to be accomplishing anything too significant, or setting life goals. And yet, Olivia Giannikopoulos seems to have her heart set on what she wants to do and is already working her way towards it.
Having already come out on top in several talent shows, where she competed against people who were twice her age, even experienced singers are giving her their seal of approval to move forward, confirming that she has everything she needs to pursue her dreams.
Olivia’s mother Lori Turner revealed that it was at her husband’s cousin’s wedding that they first discovered Olivia’s talent.
“She was about four years old and actually we didn’t know she could sing at the time,” Lori told Neos Kosmos.
“And she took it upon herself to go to the DJ and asked him to put on a track for her to sing. We were all sitting down, we had no idea, then we turn around and there’s the four-year-old with the microphone singing Let It Go. She had the whole room in tears, grandmas, cousins, everyone was crying, which we couldn’t believe, cause we didn’t know.”
After they realised her talent, Lori and her husband did everything they could to support their daughter in pursuing what quickly became a passion.
“When she was about six years old we decided to take her to David Jaanz School of Singing in Oakleigh to see whether they would take her on to have vocal training. She currently trains there under Emma Brody who’s her vocal coach and is the principal of the school,” she says.
After a couple of years of training, they decided to enter Olivia into the Fast Track singing competition, where she went on to win first place in her division.
“So we’re all very excited,” Lori enthused. “And this year we’ve also entered her in and she’s gone all the way to the grand final, which is on 17 November.” But that’s not the only bit of success young Olivia has known within the last 12 months.
“This year she also received another award after she went into the Star Search singing competition and she was against all different age groups. She received the ‘Committee’s Choice’ award from her age up till 19 to 20 years of age.”
Aside from singing, Olivia seems to have many talents. She is also doing ballet and jazz, is learning to play piano, and is even part of a basketball team.
But at this stage it is singing that has truly captured her heart.
Does she consider it her future, and could she potentially see herself with a career in the industry down the line? A bit of a premature question for a nine-year-old, surely, but not for Olivia.
“Yes, definitely. She’s told us that’s what she wants to be when she grows up. She says she wants to go to Hollywood, that’s the target – she’s aiming high. She’s very humble though, she’s very grounded. And she’s still young. We can’t stop her from singing around the house. From the moment we have wake up, it’s like an alarm clock,” says Lori.
One thing’s for certain, the talented young singer’s future is looking bright.