Whiz Kid: Roeper Singer-Songwriter Is a Rising Pop Star

Patch spotlights young people in the Birmingham community who are successful, talented and just plain awesome. 

Amanda Morgan

• Age: 17
• School:
• Achievements: Amanda has recorded five songs she wrote, made a professionally taped music video and this summer become the youngest artist to hit the No. 1 spot in an online poll by WDVD-FM of Detroit. Her song Just Wanna Know Why held the top position for four weeks. The Novi resident performed for about 90 minutes Sept. 3 at Arts, Beats & Eats in Royal Oak, has an impressive website and even peddles fan merchandise — a hot pink and black Amanda Morgan T-shirt.
• Key to Awesomeness: She began writing songs at age 10, took up guitar at 14 and a year later recorded a three-song CD in New York with a Grammy-winning producer, released in August 2010. In a four-minute Fox2 segment Aug. 15, she described her music as "a blend of pop, country and adult alternative."
  
  Songs deal with romance, pain and growth, as an excerpt from Ten Steps Back shows: "You're my one step forward, and my ten steps back / . . . So quit tryin' to make me feel bad / I'm a little more secure than that." Influences include Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks, Norah Jones and Patty Griffin. "Instead of crying into my diary, I cry into my guitar," a promotional bio quotes the Oakland teen as saying.
  
  "Amanda is an outstanding student and an amazingly talented singer and songwriter," says her Roeper music teacher Eric Swanson. “Her natural persona resonates through her voice and the lyrics in her music, making her songs relatable to fans of all ages. I’m confident that Amanda has just now begun to make her mark as a singer.”
  
  An Oakland County recording artist agrees. Stewart Francke of Huntington Woods, a 53-year-old singer-songwriter, says on her site that Amanda has "real gifts (and) a true musical presence." She lives with her parents and dog, Harley, and drives a Honda Civic.

Do you know a local young person who deserves applause for volunteer work this summer, for challenging how we think about the environment, or an impressive athletic achievement? Everyone deserves attention, and we want to tell these stories.

Email nominations to Editor Laura Houser at laura.houser@patch.com, provide the information shown above and include a photo with names and ages. Then, come back each Tuesday for our Whiz Kid spotlight; you never know who's up next.