This Week's Student Spotlight: Nikki Bucci

Age: 13
School: A. MacArthur Barr Middle School

Watch out Hollywood, Nanuet has it's own American Idol star! Nikki Bucci has been singing since she was three years old. Never shying away from the limelight but drawn to it.

On October 1, 2011, she was crowned the winner of the held at the annual Pearl River Day. Over the summer she auditioned for for the contest and was one of five finalist who were chosen to perform during the Pearl River Day festivities.

"On Pearl River Day, for the semi-finals I sang “Mean” by Taylor Swift, a song I truly enjoy listening to.  There were five contestants in the semi-finals and I was the fourth to perform. I thought I was going to be more nervous than I actually was since my nerves had turned into a thrill!  After much anticipation, the judges announced the finalists and I was ecstatic to know that I was one of them, along with Tara, a talented contestant I really enjoyed being with.  Then for the finals, I chose to sing “Firework” by Katy Perry, because it is a fun energetic song," said Nikki Bucci.

Nikki was nervous because she favors singing Broadway music, and pop was a new genre for her to sing, especially in front of a large crowd. However, those nerves were quelled as she made it through the semi-finals and it came down to her and another contestant. 

"I felt excited and nervous when I thought about singing on stage in front of many people. So many people had shown up just to support me, and that gave me even more confidence to be able to sing without problems even though there were technical difficulties with the microphone.  It came time to announce the winner, which was crowned by audience applause.  The crowd first applauded for Tara and it was ear piercing so I was nervous that I would not win, then the crowd starting cheering for me; it was ridiculously loud, I was so happy that people enjoyed my singing and I knew I had won," said Bucci.

This wasn't Nikki's first time performing in front of a large crowd. She sang the National Anthem at this year's . And most recently she sang the National Anthem at the

“I was more nervous then usual singing in front of my community but I just loved that everyone came together and volunteered their time and talent to build a playground for all the kids and Nanuet families to enjoy.  It made singing the Anthem that much more meaningful to me."

Nikki has been going to Coupe Theater Studio where she takes classes in Ballet, Jazz and Musical Theater.  She has been going to Coupe since she was eight years old trying all sorts of classes such as modern dance and hip hop. There is only so many classes her schedule can handle.

She was involved in the concert choir and was an All-County Choir participant for the past three years. She also participated in NYSMMA receiving two “outstanding” and one “excellent” marks.

However, Nikki's primary focus is on school work and it has paid off as she has been a high honor student since entering the middle school in 5th grade. In addition to music and theater, Nikki was a Girl Scout for eight years and currently has a babysitting job two days a week.

Her real passion is singing. Her accomplishments at such a young age speak for themselves. She sang a solo in Helen Hayes Theater for Coupe Theater Studio when she was 10 years old.  When she was in fifth grade she sang “My Favorite Things” at the academic awards for Barr Middle School. Nikki received the award of “Outstanding Musician”  for two consecutive years in Barr.

"I have been singing from the time I was three, I would push everyone aside (literally) for my mom to video tape me. I would perform for anyone that would give me the time to listen. Now I sing for myself as much as for someone else.  I put a lot of time into practicing my music and when I sing a song to the best of my ability the feeling of accomplishment is tremendous, I would say that is the best part of performing!"

As much as Nikki enjoys singing, the community enjoys listening to her as well. Keep an ear out for Nikki singing at local events and look forward to her future debuts on the stage when she gets to high school.