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It’s the break this 12-year-old Sayville girl has been waiting on her whole — six-year — career.
Camryn Quinlan — a singer-songwriter in seventh grade at Sayville Middle School with more than 100,000 Instagram followers — enters the big time today when her new group AcaPop! Kids drops the first single and video from its debut album.
An entertainer since she was 6, Camryn auditioned and earned a spot last year in the 28-member AcaPop! Kids, an a cappella group created by the founders of Pentatonix and Pentatonix band member Scott Hoying, and under contract with Warner Records.
For the uninformed, Pentatonix is an a capella group that won NBC’s “The Sing-Off” in 2011, and has since toured worldwide and collected three Grammy Awards. Their YouTube channel has amassed over four billion views.
“We are so excited about the potential opportunities this may bring her music career,” Camryn’s mom Amy, an elementary school teacher, said, adding that the first of three videos featuring Camryn will be released at the end of November. “It’s just a great platform to get her music out there. We hope this experience pushes her to the next level.”
At her twice-weekly music lesson Thursday at South Bay Arts in Bayport, Camryn discussed the emergence of Acapop! Kids and the possibility of becoming a pop music star.
“It’s kind of hard to imagine. It feels unreal,” she said. “I’ve just always had a love for music. I would listen to Kelly Clarkson when I was little and I would listen to Katy Perry, and I wanted to be like them.
“And now I want to be like me,” Camry continued. “I just want to be a singer-songwriter the rest of my life. I want that to be my job.”
Camryn, who tries to write up to two songs each week, already finds herself on the cusp of stardom. Her Instagram clips, an array of covers and original songs she wrote for herself, have attracted millions of views. Camryn, whose Instagram address is @camrynquinlanofficial, said she is frequently contacted by fans across the globe.
“Camryn is going to do very big things,” said Jack Licitra, owner of South Bay Arts and Camryn’s music teacher the last six years. “She’s a Sayville treasure.”
Camryn spent Columbus Day weekend in Los Angeles, living the pop star life — spending the days rehearsing and recording promotions for Acapop! Kids and the nights hanging out with her new singing buddies from across the country.
On one of those nights, the Acapop! Kids performers gathered at one of the producers homes in Brentwood, California, for a review party of each of the videos on the new album. Warner Records will spread the release of the videos out over the next few months.
“We watched all of the videos from start to finish, and they looked really good,” Camryn said. “It’s so fun being around so many talented people.”
Camryn’s most recent video release is “Monsters,” filmed at the Meadow Croft estate in Sayville.
There’s a lot of depth to the music Camryn is producing at such a young age.
In 2017 — when she was just 10 — Camryn wrote and recorded “Better Days” to bring awareness to teen suicide, following the suicide of a Sayville girl. As a third-grader, Camryn wrote “Hush” to honor her mom’s best friend, who was suffering from breast cancer.
Camryn wrote the music and lyrics for all of the original songs that she has posted on YouTube and Instagram. Her mother noted how amazed she is by her daughter’s skills.
“Camryn is a very funny, kind and compassionate young girl,” said Amy Quinlan, who is equally proud of her son Jack, 15, a sophomore catcher on Sayville’s varsity baseball team.
“This is such a great opportunity for Camryn. These are super-talented people,” she added. “She is really lucky to be working with them.”
