From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Sep 08 2009 - 16:31:35 EDT
EriAm Sisters: Renton's Lianda, Salina and Haben Abraham. Seattle area's own on 'America's Got Talent'
On TV
"America's Got Talent"
8 p.m. Tuesdays, results show 9 p.m. Wednesdays on NBC. Check local listings.
On the Internet
The EriAm Sisters: www.eriamsisters.com.
Erik and Rickie: www.erikandrickie.com.
Seattle area's own on 'America's Got Talent'
By Christy Karras
Special to The Seattle Times
Seattle has talent - according to at least one TV competition. Two Seattle-area acts are among 20 semifinalists on the top-ranked NBC show "America's Got Talent."
The singing EriAm Sisters and ballroom dancers Erik and Rickie are among the show's youngest competitors, but celebrity judges and host Nick Cannon have praised their professionalism and stage presence.
They will perform live on Tuesday and will find out the next day whether they advance to the finals in Las Vegas.
Renton's Lianda, Salina and Haben Abraham call themselves the EriAm Sisters - the name is a mash-up of Eritrea (their parents' native country) and America. They always sang for fun but didn't recognize the level of their talent until Haben, now 11 and the group's frequent lead vocalist, tried out for a school play at Highland Elementary. "It was kind of a surprise, because we always figured any kid could sing," Haben said in a phone interview from Los Angeles, where the show is filmed. "It was no big deal."
Over the past two years or so, the sisters already have created a CD of their soulful pop music, posted a bunch of YouTube videos and done many live gigs. Like Erik and Rickie, they want to keep performing together professionally as adults.
Ballroom dance partners since they were 4, Erik Linder, 9, and Rickie Taylor, 8, like to hang out even after hours practicing together at Oly's Dance Studio in their hometown of Everett. Rickie calls Erik "my best friend that is not a girl."
The two have been performing throughout the Northwest and, recently, the United States and in England. But "America's Got Talent" is a whole new world. "It's been an exciting adventure. It's great to see them do what they love to do and show their dancing skills on such a big stage and with such a big audience," said Holly Linder, Erik's mother.
Erik calls the experience fun but scary - until the music starts. "When I'm performing, I don't know what I'm even thinking of," he said. "I just do it, because I'm so used to doing it. When I'm done, I think, 'What did I just do?' "
Rickie says their youth proves "you can be any age, to dance. You can start at, like, 3, and go to 95 or something."
Now the EriAm Sisters and Erik and Rickie are getting used to looking into TV cameras and performing in front of a huge live audience, celebrity judges and the millions who watch the show.
Both acts insist they are just normal kids - with an unusual chance to perform for the world.
"It's like a little part of our dreams are coming true here," Lianda Abraham said.
Copyright © The Seattle Times Company
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