Woman from Connecticut to perform at NFL halftime show
TRUMBULL — By the time Amanda Mammana was eliminated from the NBC reality show “America’s Got Talent” in August, the 19-year-old had wowed the show’s judges with her singing talent and moved millions with her personal story.
Now the teen is poised to return to the national stage by singing during halftime of the Oct. 16 game between the Miami Dolphins and the Minnesota Vikings, taking place in Florida. She said the halftime performance is being done in connection with the NFL and American Cancer Society’s “Crucial Catch” campaign, which encourages more people to get screened for cancer.
Mammana said she will be one of a few artists performing at the game, and will sing her original song “Worth Fighting For.”
“It’s about fighting for what you believe in and fighting for your dreams,” said the Christian Heritage High School alum.
Mammana has had her own battles to fight. During her audition for “America’s Got Talent,” she revealed that she has had a stutter since age 10. She said that part of the reason she became interested in singing is that she doesn’t stutter when she sings.
The show’s judges were uniformly glowing in their praise of Mammana, but she ultimately didn’t have enough viewer votes to bring her into the final round of the competition.
Though she performed at CT CityFest, at Seaside Park in Bridgeport during the summer, the halftime show will be her first major performance since being eliminated. Mammana said she got the job through a cousin who does some work with the Miami Dolphins.
She said he originally submitted recordings of her songs hoping that she would be considered to sing the national anthem at one of the games. However, Mammana said, people with Dolphins heard “Worth Fighting For” and thought it was a good fit with the theme of Crucial Catch.
Started in 2009, the Crucial Catch campaign has raised more than $24 million for the American Cancer Society. The funds support the society’s “Community Health Advocates implementing Nationwide Grants for Empowerment and Equity,” or CHANGE, program.