She’s just 10 years old, but Christina Eike has already mapped
out two career plans.
Plan A is to work as a professional vocalist. Christina has been
honing her operatic skills, and she has a knack for picking up
popular music.
But if that doesn’t pan out, she’s got a Plan B, too.
“My backup plan is to save animals from oil spills,” she
said.
Christina, who will be a fifth-grader at Moore Public Schools
next fall, will sing the national anthem today at the opening
ceremonies for the 25th anniversary Big Sky State Games.
She won the honor in an Internet contest held on the event’s
website. She will sing at 7:30 p.m. at Wendy’s Field at Daylis
Stadium.
“I can’t wait,” Christina said earlier this week. “It’s going to
be a lot of fun. This is one of the most exciting yet.”
Christina’s first vocal performance was at age 7 when she
entered a talent show in Lewistown, said her mother, Mandy
Eike.
Mandy sings in a country western group called the Silver River
Band, and it didn’t take long for her daughter’s talent to surpass
her own.
“She would start singing and sing it better than me,” Mandy
said.
Since that first talent show, Christina has belted out the
national anthem at dozens of rodeos, sports games and other events.
She sings other songs, too, including “Music of the Night” from
“Phantom of the Opera.”
“Opera is much harder to do,” she said. “It’s really hard to do.
You have to be able to get that sound to come out of your mouth.
You’ve got to use your stomach muscles.”
Christina found out about the Big Sky State Games contest from
her school music teacher. Her mother uploaded a video of her
singing the anthem at a volleyball game, and it immediately drew
accolades from viewers.
A Big Sky State Games committee selected her as one of five
finalists, and she earned the most Internet votes.
“I try not to be that mom,” Mandy Eike said. “But I couldn’t
help it. I was really excited. I spent the entire morning on the
phone filling people in.”
Despite her experience, Christina said she expects to be nervous
singing in front of the crowd at Daylis.
“It takes a long time to get rid of nerves,” she said. “I’m
still a little scared. You have to breathe really deeply and then
hope for the best.”
