Active duty drill Sgt. Christiana Ball, winner of the 2013 Rising Star competition put on by Army Entertainment, will perform alongside some of the world's most notable musicians at A Salute to the Troops: In Performance at the White House.
Ball, who is a sergeant with the 787th Military Police Battalion from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, began performing as a child with her eight brothers and sisters, according to Military Times. They toured to entertain local churches, and soon enough the soldier was taking center stage as a soloist.
Music took a back seat when Ball enlisted in 2007, but soon became an active part of her service life. On a deployment to Iraq with the 463rd Military Police Company, she performed using a karaoke machine for the first time and started to learn more about different artists. Growing up she mainly listened to church music, but through her Army friends she became a fan of country and rock and roll.
Ball will perform at the White House on Thursday, Nov. 6. Some additional artists who will be lending their talents to the event include Mary J. Blige and Willy Nelson.