13-Year-Old Budding Singer Impresses Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson + More [Watch]
13-year-old Rilee has never sung in front of an audience before now, but her raw vocal talent is enough to turn the heads of some of the country genre's biggest stars.
The young girl recently sat down in the chair of the Singing Barber, aka Noah Peters, a singer-barber who's known for viral TikTok videos of him serenading clients while cutting their hair. In some cases, the clients serenade him back, or they make the performance into a duet. But few people who sit down in the barber's chair can carry a tune quite like Rilee, a teenage country fan who stars in a video posted Tuesday (Dec. 26.)
Rilee covered Lainey Wilson's "Heart Like a Truck," and proved her talent right from the start: Her strong, clear voice embodies all the emotion of Wilson's original, while still putting her own spin on the ballad. Peters is in the background of the clip, but he knows better than to chime in — Rilee is more than capable of carrying the performance all by herself.
"Sweet Rilee is only 13 years old. She has never sang in front of anyone," Peters wrote in the caption, adding a special message to Wilson: "I want you to see this!!!!"
Wilson did see Rilee's performance, and she even left a message of encouragement for the young girl, commenting "Let's go!!! Sing it girl."
But she wasn't the only star to voice her enthusiasm about the budding young singer's talents. Luke Combs also chimed in in the comments section, writing, "You killed that Rilee! Keep it up." Jelly Roll — who duetted with Wilson on his hit song, "Save Me" — left a lengthier comment encouraging Rilee to keep pursuing her singing talent.
"She sounds incredible to be so young!" Jelly wrote. "Tell her keep chasing that dream, keep singing from the soul young lady!"
Peters' TikTok page is a treasure trove of country covers; earlier this month, Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox even made a cameo in a video, singing a snippet of the Flatts hit "What Hurts the Most" while wearing Christmas pajamas.
The Top 40 Country Songs of 2023, Ranked
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes