Jamia Simone Nash

With a bold voice and signature delivery that belies her thirteen years, Jamia Simone Nash, known simply as "Jamia", is definitely a superstar on the rise. Jamia owned the stage on February 24, 2008, at the 80th Annual Academy Awards® ceremony when she performed the Oscar-nominated original song "Raise It Up" from the Warner Brothers' feature "August Rush," a movie for which she received critical acclaim in her feature film debut as "Hope." In the role, Jamia befriends star Freddie Highmore's character, a musically gifted, adopted boy searching for his real parents. Her inspiring lead performance of "Raise It Up" with the Impact Repertory Theater of Harlem not only won Jamia rave reviews, but also secured her place in the history books as the youngest African-American to perform on the prestigious worldwide telecast to date. The song didn't score a statue but Jamia's appearance was a big win, widely regarded by critics as one of the evening's highlights.