Born and raised in the midwest, Emily Summerhays proves to be the next best thing to come out of Waterloo, Iowa. She started singing when she was three years old, but had her first public appearance at a school talent show. After that, she joined church and school choirs to work on her craft. Still trying to figure out how to showcase her voice to the masses, she decided to participate in pageants throughout the state of Iowa. She obviously had something going for her because in 2004, she was crowned Miss Iowa Teen and later won the National Talent competition in the National American Miss Teen pageant that same year. She is currently the reigning 2006 National American Miss Iowa Miss! While winning most, if not all of the talent portions of every pageant she was in, she started to balence school and her dream, which is a big pill to swallow as a teenager. "I still sang in many choirs and bands in high school; played the flute, piccolo, oboe, piano, and violin; and still participated in pageants and kept up her GPA. During her reign as Miss Iowa Teen she was allowed backstage at a Ja Rule concert where she met her current manager, DJ Massive. Though she was successful in her extra-curricular activities in high school, she had to quit all of them during her senior year to pursue her dream as a singer. Her debut album "Reflection" was recorded in Houston with famed producer Billy Cook. Watch for it under her father's label, MLE Entertainment, in 2006!