Carmen Brandy To Compete In Largo Teen Idol Event

Take a glance at the calendar on Carmen Brandy's website an you will see a full slate of events on the schedule for the month of March.

In addition to her first headlining gig this Saturday at the Chapel on the Hill Church in Seminole, the eighth-grader will play gigs at the Chic Fil-A in Oldsmar; the Sumter and Collier County Fairs; the Florida Strawberry Festival; and a St. Paddy's Day event in Tampa.

But her biggest event could be the Largo Teen Idol competition, to be held on Mar. 21 at the Largo Cultural Center.

After all the 2011 winner of the contest, Nathalie Hernandez of Dunedin, went on to a successful run on NBC's televised singing competition, "The Voice."

"Carmen actually competed against Nathalie in the Dunedin Teen Idol competition last year, so she's excited to participate in this event," Brandy's mom/manager Kari said.

"Carmen just has a knack for pulling things off when the pressure is on."

After the whirlwind month of performing, Brandy will head back to Tennessee to record her latest EP; she is currently working on tracks for that mini-album.

Kari Brandy says all the events, practicing and performances can take a toll on the effervescent 14-year-old.

So the "mom-ager" prescribed a strict regimen for her daughter recently.

"We just totally relaxed this last weekend. I told her she needed to rest because she's got a busy month ahead of her."

Note: an earlier version of this story contained an inacurrate quote regarding Carmen's finish in the Dunedin Teen Idol event. A change has been made to reflect the corrections.

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