Who is Reh? Meet 'American Idol' who is a US army soldier and powerhouse vocalist from Texas
Reh is one of the top contenders for the trophy on 'American Idol' in the upcoming season. A little over five feet in height, this powerhouse vocalist possessed the ability to fill the room with her big voice and can do so with and without toting a microphone in hand.
In July 2020, Reh was performing at the 105th birthday celebrations of a World War II veteran. Such was the intensity of her voice that it brought tears to the veteran among other soldiers present at the event. Continue reading below to know all about her.
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Reh's early life
Reh's love for music dates back to the time when she was a kid. Raised by her mother, she grew up in Texas with her six siblings. Her father's side of the family are musicians and their household was filled with an appreciation for performing and singing, according to an article.
"Music has been my passion for as long as I can remember,” she once told a staff Seargent of California Army National Guard. Reh still remembers her first experience singing in front of other people at the church that her family frequented in Houston. She was four years old at the time and had performed 'I am God' by Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers.
“Having that foundation of music always in and around my home gave me an intense connection with and exemplified my love for poetry in the form of song,” Reh said.
Reh's education
Reh graduated from Lamar High School and joined the Texas National Guard but kept vocalist dreams alive. This was her first opportunity of sharing her music with the world and it also allowed her to pursue her passion for singing. She continued her education at the Houston Community College and received her associate degree in Fine Arts in 2016, all while still serving in the Texas National Guard.
With a little push and a lot of encouragement from fellow soldiers she applied to USC Thornton School of Music and to her surprise, she was accepted and she is now studying popular music performance as well as learning to play the piano. After being accepted, she transferred to the California National Guard. It's her dream to work as a recording artist and voice-over actress in animated films and television and she's currently working towards it while also juggling her career in the military.
Performing in uniform
Reh received her first honor of performing in uniform a few months after joining the Texas National Guard. It was for her advanced training graduation in Fort Lee, Virginia. “It was a proud moment for me, having graduated at the top of my class,” she had said. It wasn't until her commander and other officers approached to congratulate her at that event and encouraged her to pursue singing outside the military, that she decided to give it a thought.
Being a vocalist in the army, she has performed the Star-Spangled Banner countless times. The biggest event that she's performed the national anthem to date remains her command's deployment ceremony in 2015 at the Houston Astros baseball game at Minute Maid Park. “There had to have been at least 40,000 people in attendance. I was so nervous to sing in front of such a large audience,” she had said.
Reh was overcome with emotion while performing at that event. Recalling the most challenging part of that performance, she said, it was "having to sing while feeling the emotional heaviness of my battle buddies in that moment, on top of trying to calm my nervous emotions."
Nevertheless, she pushed through and championed the performance like she always did. “However, in that moment I felt a responsibility to lift the energy of every person under the sound of my voice, so I sung from my heart ... and from a place of power and pride.”
Reh's Instagram
Reh is very much in touch with her fun, bubbly, as well as sexy side and her Instagram feed is proof of the same. There are a lot of photos of her gorgeous self on her page, a couple of them are from a recent shoot that she did and the results are phenomenal. You can check all of them below. Reh also has a YouTube channel where you can head to watch her perform in uniform.
'American Idol' Season 4 will premiere on Sunday, February 14, 2021, at 8 pm ET on ABC.
