I was casually browsing my Twitter feed the other afternoon when I spotted a tweet by Ellen DeGeneres that put the biggest smile on my face: “Sophia Grace and Rosie will be on my show tomorrow. My tutu is fluffed and ready.”
Who are these tiara-topped tutu-clad youngsters that have scored a spot on Ellen’s coveted talk show, you may ask? Precocious British 8-year-old Sophia Grace Brownlee, along with her 5-year-old blonde sidekick, Rosie, rocked Ellen’s stage last year with their viral performance of Nicki Minaj’s “Superbass”, bringing to tears Grammy judges, teenage girls and ballerinas everywhere.
Now they’re back with their own unique take on Keri Hilson’s “Turn My Swag On” – and turn their swag on they did.
Mid-song, Sophia Grace broke out into her own rap, including lyrical gems such as “We’re flying first class like a princess should, I’m sippin’ on this cherry ade and it tastes good” and ending with a defiant “Sophia Grace and Rosie, risin’ to the top!” The girls impressed Ellen so much she even offered to have them accompany her on the red carpet at this month’s Grammys. The perks of having an adorable British accent.
To this day, I have never encountered a more charismatic 8-year-old. There is no doubt in my mind that this little girl is indeed risin’ to the top, taking immense natural-born talent with her. Because she practically bleeds swag and the 8-year-old version of me would have shrunk in her presence, Sophia Grace inspires me to consider a few key lessons.
1) Never run out of energy! Even if you have to chug a six-pack of Red Bull or shoot up a bunch of Pixie Stix or whatever to keep your adrenaline flowing, everything you do will have a million times more of an impact if you bring the vigor.
2) Always be confident. Don’t let someone tell you that you can’t rap because you’re 8 years old and white. Or that you’re too short to accomplish whatever your heart desires. I still like to pretend on a good day that I’m Tyra Banks and Comm. Ave is my runway.
3) When Nicki Minaj tells you to stay in school, you better do it.
4) Have a big presence and even bigger dreams. As cliché as this is going to sound, you really never know where life is going to take you. One minute you’re innocently making a YouTube video of a song you like to hear on the radio with your BFF Rosie and the next you’re walking the red carpet with Ellen. It happens. Apply for that internship you think you have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting because you just never know.
5) Wear a tutu. If you look fabulous, you will be fabulous.