Winner of the hit show America's Got Talent, Bianca Ryan is definitely going places. At just 12 years old, this young singing prodigy beat thousands of contestants to win the coveted one million dollar price and a five album record deal with Simon Cowell’s imprint (SYCO) at Columbia Records.

10 reasons why we love Bianca Ryan

Winner of the hit show America's Got Talent, Bianca Ryan is definitely going places. At just 12 years old, this young singing prodigy beat thousands of contestants to win the coveted one million dollar price and a five album record deal with Simon Cowell’s imprint (SYCO) at Columbia Records. Ryan launched her highly anticipated self-titled debut album last November which features classic cover songs and radio-friendly, pop-inspired originals written just for her by top songwriters like Diane Warren and David Foster.

Why all the fuss? Here are our top 10 reasons:

She is the little girl, with the big, big voice
Ryan walked in at the first audition (then she was 11), with bags of talent and confidently impressed the show judges with her jaw-dropping performance of Jennifer Holiday’s And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going. She pulled off the performance so much so that Piers Morgan, who didn't like Ryan's appearance, told her to change her hair, dress and shoes, "and you will win this tournament. … You came on this stage, and you blew us away!" See her first audition here and her winning moment here.

She’s got pure energy
Oh yes she has! This prodigy repeatedly performed to standing ovations from the America’s Got Talent studio audiences. For someone so young, she performs on stage with the passion of someone three times her age.

She makes Brandy want to practice more
Yep, you heard right. At her finale appearance on the show,Ryan wowed judges with her rendition of I Am Changing from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls which got show judge Brandy to declare that Ryan "makes me want to go practice, that's how good you are.”

She impressed Simon Cowell
Who could impress the music industry's harshest critic I hear you say! Well, this child-star did. Cowell recently stated, “Bianca Ryan is potentially one of the best singers I have ever heard in my life.”

She grew up in church
Growing up in a Christian home in Philadelphia, Ryan grew up singing in the church choir. She cites one of her musical influences as Yolanda Adams, and she had the opportunity to sing with Adams during the competition, which Ryan exclaims as "an amazing moment for me." Of working with Ryan, Yolanda Adams said there was little she could teach Ryan that she did not already possess.

She’s a giver
Asked what she’d do with her million dollar prize, Ryan said, "I'm definitely going to give some to my church because my pastor's helped me out a lot. And then I'm going to save some for me and my brothers and sisters to go to college. And then I'll probably go on a shopping spree."

She doesn’t apologise for her faith
Ryan doesn't shy away from telling people how much she loves God. "I have been able to talk about God to other people during all of this. I also have had a few times where I could respond to fan mail when they would ask me different questions like how I can sing so well, and I tell them how good God has been to me and my family and how my singing is a gift from Him. Sometimes I can't believe this is all actually happening, this last year is proof of how God can make your dreams come true."

She speaks her mind
In a recent interview, Ryan told a journalist her album is not just the result of high-tech studio magic, "I didn't want any artificial 'sweetening' done on my vocals and while they did some editing - assembling the final versions of songs from pieces of different performances - what you hear is really me. Even the long notes I hold on songs like The Rose.'"

She sets an example for her peers
Asked what she would say to other preteens who want to go into a music career, Ryan said, "They need to practice a lot and take care of their voice. If you want to do it, then just do it - I started out singing in the basement of my house."

She’s just an ordinary girl
Despite everything, Ryan claims her life "hasn't really changed" that much. "I've still got my friends, my family. They all still treat me normally. I'm in school most of the time and keep up on my work when I have to go on the road."

(Photo credit: Gabrielle Revere)

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