DeKalb County Resident Wins International Military Singing Award

The following is a press release from the Mack family:

Constance Mack of DeKalb County, a specialist in the Georgia Army National Guard, recently won the Operation Rising Star military singing contest in San Antonio, Texas. Mack, 26, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Mack of Stone Mountain.  

The singing contest, which is the U.S. Armed Forces version of American Idol, featured more than 800 performers from around the world. Mack was crowned winner for 2012 by the show’s judges and a viewing audience of more than 121,000 civilians and military personnel who saw the show on the Pentagon Channel and at www.OpRisingStar.com     “For me to win this is very humbling,” said Mack, “because I was not expecting it whatsoever. Now, I can wake up in the morning and start singing any song any way I want. The fact that I can wake up and start singing lets me know that singing is a part of me.”  

During the show, Mack sang: “Still I Rise” by Yolanda Adams, “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin, “Love on Top” by Beyonce, “All I Do” by Stevie Wonder, and “I Who Have Nothing” by Shirley Bassey, and “The Pretender” by Jackson Browne.   And, in an operatic voice, she turned in an Italian rendition made famous by Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Boccelli: “Nessun Dorma” by Giacomo Pucini.     Presently, Mack is on duty at the Presidio of Monterey, California, where she is studying Chinese at the Defense Language Institute.   Mack received voice training at the DeKalb School of the Arts and holds a music degree from Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee.