Emma Mae Jacob   -  Biography

Emma Mae Jacob grew up in Costa Mesa, Calif., and as a child, she enjoyed listening to Aretha Franklin and Patsy Cline. She took vocal lessons from the legendary Seth Riggs -- she once ran into Ray Charles at a lesson -- and earned a spot as first soprano in the Pacific Symphony Children's Choir. At age 11, she sang a Franklin song, "You're All I Need to Get By," on Showtime at the Apollo and received a standing ovation. The family was living in Colfax, Calif., when Jacob and her parents took over the ownership of a local theatre owned by Jacob's grandfather. Music producer Paul Worley heard her perform there and encouraged her to move to Nashville. Worley also pitched a song that would become the teenager's first single, "What If We Fly," included on her debut album, Breaking All the Rules, in 2008.