DALONA

"I was maybe seven years old when my late grandfather, a career minister and Bishop of our church, heard me in the kitchen singing a praise and worship song I’d picked up earlier that day. The look on his face stopped me. He was genuinely lit up, like a talent scout who had just discovered the next big thing, except it was his own granddaughter. That moment changed everything. From that point on, my family, especially my mother, saw something in me and made sure I used it. I was singing in church so regularly that sometimes they’d pull out a stool so the congregation in the back pews could actually see me. Even when my voice and hands were both shaking, I showed up. That little girl on the stool is honestly still who I’m singing for."