What a year
for Bianca!

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Of all the things Bianca Ryan’s experienced in the last year, perhaps the shining moment that illuminated both her fast rise to fame and her tender age happened at a Prince concert.
Last summer, the legendary musical artist’s drummer invited Bianca, the Mayfair singer who turned 13 last month, to a 200-person concert at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif., after which the two petite powerhouses were supposed to meet.
But when Prince was still strutting and strumming well into the early-morning hours, dad Shawn Ryan’s paternal instinct kicked in.
"She was falling asleep in her chair," he said. "I was like, ‘I gotta get her home.’"
Such has become the life of the modest middle-schooler whose million-dollar win on NBC’s America’s Got Talent in August 2006 propelled her to worldwide popularity.
The girl who could barely speak upon being proclaimed by host Regis Philbin as the winner on the show’s season finale now talks eloquently about the last year, in which she has released a CD, toured, traveled through Europe, met President George Bush, performed with stars like Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Holliday, and sang before 180,000 people at a NASCAR race.
But for all her newfound maturity, Bianca, a seventh-grader at the School Lane Charter School in Bensalem, still prefers the Disney Channel to MTV and pigs out on cookie cake and pizza instead of caviar and filet mignon. She has remained incredibly normal, thanks to her supportive and business-savvy family, who accompanied her on her 30-city tour with "her idols," fellow young acts Aly & AJ, Drake Bell and Corbin Bleu.
"It’s really a different lifestyle out there," Bianca said of touring during an interview at her home last week (yes, the Ryan family still live in their rowhome, not a mansion). "It’s not really your day. It’s a schedule. I got back and was like, ‘Let’s go swimming.’"
Bianca, who by age 10 had already appeared on the television showcases Star Search and Showtime at the Apollo, quickly acclimated to the hectic schedule.
On tour, Bianca usually performed around 7 at night and then signed autographs. Brother Shawn, 15, got to play guitar during some performances and collected a fan base all his own. His presence onstage helped his initially nervous little sis chill out and rock on.
"He definitely keeps the energy going whenever he gets going," said Bianca, who enjoyed indoor performances more than outdoor because the dark made it "feel more like a concert." "When I would get tired, I looked at him and he made me smile."
Downtime was spent making goofy home videos with her siblings, who include Isabella, 8, and Jagger, 4, and lifelong friend Jaime Curry. Bella Ryan kept things interesting with her comedic talents, at one point asking the tour-bus driver, "When are you gonna let me drive this baby?"
While on tour, the Ryans learned that Bianca’s following, evidenced by the host of fan Web sites devoted to her, stretches beyond the teenybopper crowd. Childless adults attended her performances, and at one concert an 85-year-old man cried when she started singing.
Outside the United States, her popularity continues to grow. Last winter, a throng of fans overwhelmed Bianca and her dad when they arrived in Germany for a performance. After wearing her hair crimped for a German newspaper interview, hundreds of little girls turned up with the same style at her concert the next day.
In fact, the day after her Times interview, camera crews from Germany’s version of America’s Got Talent planned to follow Bianca around for the day as part of a feature.
"They are very loyal fans," Bianca said of the Germans.
Globetrotting and touring aside, the teen continues to perform at many of the same local events and sports games that she graced before her Talent win. She sang at last month’s home opener of the Philadelphia Eagles and will take part in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Next week she’ll perform at two diabetes functions, here and in New Jersey.
"I said, ‘We gotta continue doing things for people that helped you before you got famous,’" said dad Shawn.
Bianca said she’s itching to get back in the studio. Her voice, coached up until her Talent win by vocal instructor Sal Dupree, is changing and bringing out more of her range. She has started writing her own tunes and continues to explore more styles — lately, country, a la LeAnn Rimes and Taylor Swift — though she says the R &B that got her known will always be her thing.
Her latest track, That’s Not Me, transformed from a ballad to a Kelly Clarksonesque pop-rock tune after Bianca got her hands on it.
"I really like putting all the vocals down and putting it all together," she said. "I really like going in when there’s a song I’m excited about."
There’s no talk of when Bianca’s next recording will be. Her contract with Sony’s SYCOmusic label requires a five-CD commitment, but no time length, so it’s possible that each release could be spread apart by years.
Her first CD, Bianca Ryan, an album of cover songs released almost a year ago, has sold about 91,000 copies in the United States and came in at No. 57 on the Billboard charts. A Christmas CD was supposed to have been released through Wal-Mart last year as a promotional giveaway, but instead it will be distributed this year.
Shawn and Janette Ryan have no plans to move their family from Philadelphia. Bianca wants to attend the Creative and Performing Arts High School in South Philly, where her brother Shawn goes. Should a television career kick off — and there have been proposals, but nothing that Bianca’s latched on to — the family would live on the West Coast only during tapings.
While she is gratified to have accomplished so much at such a young age, Bianca Ryan plans to keep growing as a singer.
"It’s good having something to work for," she said. ••
For more information, visit www.biancaryan.com or www.myspace.com/biancaryan
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com