CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea - At a particular Super Hangar office here, the funky, rhythmic, soul music of Aretha Franklin floated in the air. Behind the door where the music came from, Capt. Cydnia Jackson sat humming the song.
Jackson is a senior human resource advisor for the 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade. She is also the winner of the Camp Humphreys Operation Rising Star 2015. Operation Rising Star is an individual vocal competition coordinated by the Morale, Welfare and Recreation's (MWR) Army Entertainment Division.
Following her live competition performance on Camp Humphreys which she won, there was another round of the competition online through a video that was submitted to the competition board.
Jackson was one of the top 12 performers out of the 22 garrison winners who also submitted videos from around the world. She will be flying to Fort Sam Houston, Texas on November 19th and staying there for three weeks.
"I never knew I could make it to the final," Jackson said.
The top twelve finalists will compete in a Web broadcast competition held in San Antonio, Texas. Each competitor will have an opportunity to train with a professional vocal coach and choreographer to prepare for the web broadcast competition. The final shows will be available for viewing at www.oprisingstar.com. Each show will be played November 29th and December 1st, 3rd, and 9th. The 1st place winner will receive a $1,000 prize and an all-expense paid trip to record a 3 song CD. The trip includes airfare, lodging and three days of studio time at a professional recording studio.
Although she is excited to participate in the competition, Jackson said she is also worried about the challenges ahead of her.
"I'm worried about the amount of singing," said Jackson. "Singing all day for three weeks will be a challenge."
Song selection is another difficult task.
"After watching videos of the previous winners, I realized that song selection is very important to engage with the audience," said Jackson. "Choosing a song that the audience knows and that I can relate to is tricky."
Among seven songs she had to pick, Jackson will be singing Aretha Franklin's "Rocksteady" and Nina Simone's "Feeling good."
"I love songs that have message in them," said Jackson. "For example, "Feeling good" talks about how little things in life make you feel good."
Jackson's forte is the Soul genre, but she will step out of her comfort zone and try some rock and roll music by Tina Turner.
For the opportunity that lies ahead of her, she said she is very "humbled" and "appreciative of the support from her unit and supervisor."
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