Alyssa Wray became known nationally with her dazzling performances on American Idol and recently has moved to New York City to pursue her professional singing career dreams. However, she had good reasons to be back in Kentucky last week after she was invited to sing the national anthems before the Cincinnati Bengals hosted Jacksonville and before Kentucky hosted Florida.
Wray, who attended Northern Kentucky University last year, had originally been scheduled to sing the anthem at the Bengals’ opening game before the date was pushed back.
“UK Athletics had reached out to me but I had already moved to New York. They gave me two dates,” Wray said. “I was coming home to sing at the Bengals game (September 30) and I also had a gig in Cincinnati. I asked my mother if I could make it to UK in time (on October 2) to sing and she said yes. So it actually worked out perfectly.”
Even though she had excelled on national TV on American Idol, Wray felt pressure at both venues.
“At the Bengals game I was nervous but I was like, ‘It’s the Bengals,'” she said. “At UK, everyone I knew was there and there were so many people. I was really nervous. I didn’t want to let anyone down. The national anthem is a big deal and I wanted to make sure I did a good job.”
Wray also grew up a huge UK fan in Perryville. That made the opportunity even more meaningful to her.
“Everyone thinks it is their job to critique the national anthem. Everyone knows the words. One wrong word and everybody knows it,” Wray said
“In high school one of my first paid gigs was to sing the national anthem at a golf course and I forgot the words. I was really worried I might be so nervous at UK that I might forget the words.”
She didn’t forget and enjoyed her chance to perform at Kroger Field. Now she’s back in New York “auditioning and living my life” hoping for the best.
“New York is insane. It is huge. I am having to figure everything out,” she said. “I have met a lot of people in the last year. Some people are helping me get booked. I am doing some little shows. I am trying to get auditions. I just signed with an agent here. I am taking acting classes and some different stuff. I am just living life.”
