Hitting a high note at five

Kaitlyn Maher,one of the top 10 finalists on Americas Got Talent,who has an upcoming Disney movie and debut album,is five years old.

Kaitlyn Maher,one of the top 10 finalists on Americas Got Talent,who has an upcoming Disney movie and debut album,is five years old. Already,though,her Twitter account read: kaitlynmaher is looking forward to Washington Post reporter visiting tonight to do an interview with her! :.

When Kaitlyn was 18 months old,her parents thought she might have a problem: She never stopped singing and always sang herself to sleep. When Kaitlyn was three,relatives in Canada asked whether she would come sing at a birthday party. Alison was pregnant with her second child,Ethan. So the Mahers,of Ashburn,Virginia,said theyd send a video of Kaitlyn singing. When they couldnt e-mail the video,they resorted to YouTube. Five months later,NBCs Americas Got Talent asked Kaitlyn to audition for Season 3. Reuben and Alison said they debated the idea,but Kaitlyn was excited. She told her parents that she wanted to see the sparkles come down at the finale.

On the episode when she was introduced to audiences nationwide,she walked to centrestage,holding the corner of her pink dress with one hand and a microphone with the other,and sang Somewhere Out There from the animated film An American Tail,pronouncing her rs as ws and revealing her lisp with each s. Her voice surprised everyone,immediately turning viewers into fans.

Kaitlyn moved from New York to Las Vegas to Hollywood to the top 40 and,finally,the top 10. She sang the Jackson 5s Ill Be There and,paired against an operatic rendition of All by Myself by contestant Neal Boyd. Kaitlyn was excluded from the top five,but was invited back to the October 1 finale. The winner held Kaitlyn up in the air as the sparkles came down. Kaitlyn has since performed at the 2008 lighting of the National Christmas Tree and the 2009 National Cherry Blossom Festival. She spent January through April in Hollywood with her mom and baby brother to meet with agents for Santa Buddies,a Disney movie expected on DVD November 24,in which she is the voice of a dog named Tiny. And she is recording her debut album,set for release in early October,in Nashville.

Kaitlyn,who is home-schooled,reads at the fourth-grade level and loves playing math and spelling games. She said she enjoys singing,acting,dancing,swimming,taking piano lessons and spending time with her little brother. Most of all,I like being a princess and dressing up and wearing crowns, she added.