Mary Sarah

Mary Sarah
Background information
Birth name	Mary Sarah Gross
Also known as	Mary Sarah
Born	(1995-07-07) July 7, 1995 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	2007–present
Associated acts	Dolly Parton, Ray Price, Vince Gill, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton, Oak Ridge Boys, Tanya Tucker, Katie Basden, Justin Whisnant, Joe Maye, Adam Wakefield, Paxton Ingram, Brittany Kennell
Website	marysarah.com/

Mary Sarah (born July 7, 1995) is a country music singer and songwriter.

Early years

Mary Sarah Gross was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 7, 1995 to Richard and Patricia Gross. She has one sister, Emilee Elizabeth, born in 1993, and a brother, Christopher Thomas, born in 1989. Christopher has had a liver transplant and is a type 1 diabetic. For this reason, she was a spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and currently is the National Ambassador for Caiden's Hope, raising awareness for Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) for families with children in financial needs due to extended illness for the premature babies^[1][2]

Singing career

Mary Sarah began performing in church at the age of 8, and began to appear on radio stations and at several regional Opry Theaters. In 2007, at the age of 12, she toured the U.S. for six months as a featured lead vocalist and dancer in Kidz Bop, an 18-song rock concert produced by Razor & Tie Records and Vee Corporation production.^[3] Mary Sarah was signed to the Osbrink Talent Agency in Los Angeles at age 11 and remained on their roster until she was 14, when she returned to Texas and continued to perform in local and regional Opry Theaters, Town Squares and at charity fundraisers refining her vocal and guitar skills.

In January 2011, Mary Sarah received an invitation to meet The Oak Ridge Boys after Joe Bonsall viewed her video of performing "Don't Stop Believing" at the Sugar Land, TX Idol competition. After visiting with them backstage before the show at the Galveston Grand Opera House for a sold out show, Joe and Duane Allen invited her onstage to sing Connie Francis' iconic classic "Where the Boys Are";^[4] Mary Sarah subsequently re-recorded the song with Neil Sedaka, on the album "Bridges" featuring a duet with the song's co-author. Mary Sarah herself credits the support and love of The Oak Ridge Boys^[5] for helping her career move forward^[6] The Oak Ridge Boys also appear on the album "Bridges" singing with Mary Sarah on their former hit "Dream On"^[7]

In 2011, she hosted a four-part series for the 2011 season of "OPRY on the Square – Country Now and Then" in Sugarland Town Square.^[8]

Mary Sarah won second place in the Teen Category of the 2011 International Songwriting Competition, for her self-penned song "A New Crush."^[9]

In December, 2011, the Houston Texans held a vote-in contest to see who would sing the National Anthem for their annual Home for the Holidays game. Mary Sarah was the winner over 7 other finalists.^[10][11] Her anthem sparked controversy as Carolina Panther Jeremy Shockey was upset that the Houston Texans players were, in his opinion, not respecting the rendition of Mary Sarah's anthem.^[12]

In April 2014, Mary Sarah made her Ryman Auditorium debut on the Opry Country Classics night appearing with Lynn Anderson and The Oakridge Boys on a night honoring the late Ray Price^[13]

On June 4, 2014, Mary Sarah was named among the best dressed for the CMT Awards show after a last minute add to walk the Red Carpet with luminaries Jason Aldean Carrie Underwood Cassadee Pope Brooklyn Decker Lady Antebellum and many more, in spite of not having a music video spinning on the channel. E!online called her "Flirty and Fit"^[14]

On July 8, 2014, Mary Sarah released the album entitled "Bridges" - Mary Sarah and Friends, via independent music label Cleopatra Records which featured duets with Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard, the late Ray Price, Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, Lynn Anderson, The Oakridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap, Big & Rich, Vince Gill, Neil Sedaka, and Freddy Powers.^[15][16][17]

On July 29, 2014, Mary Sarah appeared on Mike Huckabee's television program on Fox News with the Governor playing bass in accompaniment as they performed the Vietnam Era "The Fightin' Side Of Me" live on the show in support of the album release "Bridges" to high critical acclaim.^[18]

On May 31, 2016, Mary Sarah made her Grand Ole Opry debut.^[19]

The Voice (2016)

On February 29, 2016, she auditioned on season 10 of The Voice when she sang the Connie Francis song "Where the Boys Are". All four coaches – Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams – turned their chairs for her, and she chose Shelton as her coach. She defeated Justin Whisnant in the battles.^[20][21] In the knockout rounds, she beat Brittany Kennell.

     – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

Discography

Albums

Singles

Further reading

• 2015 Billboard Artists to Watch Jan 1, 2015, Chuck Dauphin
• Interview With Mary Sarah All Indie Magazine, retrieved Oct 22, 2010
• Interview with Mary Sarah Buzz Edition, retrieved December 23, 2010
• A Special Twitter Connection, Bit Rebels, Diana Adams, retrieved Feb 16, 2011
• Artist To Watch Mary Sarah Duets with Ray Price, Triggerman, retrieved Jan 28, 2014
• Mary Sarah to Release "Bridges," duets with Dolly, Willie, Merle, Ray Price, Staff, retrieved 1/28/2014
• 615 Spotlight: Mary Sarah Builds 'Bridges' With Country Icons (Song Premiere) retrieved 7/9/2014
• Mray Sarah releases new music "Dress Up This Town"
• Mary Sarah Electrifies Sand and Sage Roundup

References

External links

• AGR Television Records International Record Label of Mary Sarah (multi-lingual)