Ruby Bruce could be on her way to stardom and she’s 14 years old.
The Scotch Creek resident recently took first place and a hefty $500 in the Salmon Arm Fair’s Shuswap Idol with Shady Beach, one of three original pieces she sang in the competition.
“I’m pretty excited, it was pretty cool,” she said. She plans to save the money, maybe deciding to invest in a new guitar.
She had no problem competing with people twice her age.
“I was a little bit nervous because the last song I did today I had never performed before. I thought it would be fun to perform it. It’s one of my actually completed songs.”
Jack Johnson’s soft, soothing acoustics influenced the creation of Shady Beach, a nostalgic song that reminds Bruce of a beach she used to visit in the Shuswap when she was between eight to 11 years old.
Bruce is no stranger to the Idol stage, or being in the spotlight.
In 2013, she won Shuswap Idol in the 18-and-under category.
The spunky, teenager took first in August, in The Star Experience Canada, which is a B.C.-wide songwriting competition for youth.
At the competition in Vancouver at the Rio Theatre, she won not only first overall, but also audience favourite and best song with Lifeboat, which is about overcoming hardships.
Bruce enjoyed meeting the other contestants and it came as a surprise when she claimed all three titles.
“I was definitely not expecting it because a lot of people were super good,” she said.
The first-prize winner gets a produced song which she will be recording at the end of October, as well as a website.
Her musical talents don’t come from her parents — neither sing nor play instruments — but she’s always been a performer at heart.
“That kid has been singing and performing since she was a baby. We had a stage in the back yard. We’d do a lot of driving in the car when she was really really young and I remember thinking ‘holy cow, that girl can sing,’” said her mother, Nicole Bruce.
“Hopefully the local radio station will play her song,” said grandfather Jim Cooperman.
Bruce is described as sweet by her mother and has many friends.
She’s been playing guitar since she was 10 and looks up to alternative artists like The Neighbourhood and her guitar teacher, Michael Turner, who, she said, has helped her become a better musician.
But, it’s the thrill of performing that keeps her playing.
“I try to make eye contact with people, it’s a little bit weird,” the hazel-eyed youth laughed.
As a performer, she isn’t intimidated by a crowd, and zones out to keep her cool.
She’s been to Los Angeles twice, once in July and the other time in 2015, for Vocalize U, a vocal-training program for global artist development at multiple levels.
A French immersion student on the honour role, she attends school South Kamloops Secondary.
Lifeboat will be recorded at the Vancouver Blue Lights studio.
To learn more about Bruce, visit her Facebook Ruby Bruce Music Page, or find her on YouTube at Ruby Bruce.
