A Nine-Year-Old's Karaoke Performance Goes Viral
In a small town in Mississippi, a nine-year-old girl captured the attention of millions with her unexpected and confident performance of a rap song at a local Mexican restaurant. Alaynna Doty, from Olive Branch, had no idea that her one-minute karaoke act would become a sensation online.
Alaynna has been visiting Crazy Cactus, a popular spot for karaoke, for about two years. While she usually sticks to country songs, this time she decided to take on a track that was close to her heart. The song, a 2000 rap classic, is not explicitly worded, but it still made a big impression on the crowd.
Her performance was so energetic and full of confidence that it brought the entire restaurant to its feet. “It’s just like a song that I’ve known for a long time. They were pretty shocked, but they sang along with me,” Alaynna explained.
Her mother, Lauren Durham, posted a video of the performance on TikTok, and it quickly gained traction. Within days, the video had over four million views, and Alaynna found herself in the spotlight.
“I posted it, and she said, ‘Mom, I cannot believe you did that,’ and I was like, ‘Alaynna. It just shows you have a lot of confidence. I’m just showing, you know, other children that you have confidence and it’s OK to have confidence.’ And she was like ‘fine,’ and then once it started blowing up, I started getting phone call after phone call,” Durham shared.
As the video spread, Alaynna learned about her sudden fame from a friend. “I was just watching a movie and my friend Bella called me and said, ‘You know, you’re viral?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not,’ and she said, ‘Go check your mom’s TikTok.’ I said OK, and I went to check it. I’m like, ‘How did I get to this?'” she said.
The TikTok post received over 130,000 comments in just a few days, with many users expressing admiration for Alaynna’s performance. One comment read, “This is America. There is no division or hate, just pure unity and good vibes.”
Even Project Pat, the original artist of the song, took notice. He reposted Alaynna’s video on his own TikTok page, and it has been viewed nearly 4.5 million times so far. The video also gained attention on other social media platforms.
“It was wonderful, and when she did a Jessie Murph song another time, Jessie Murph actually reposted her video as well,” Durham said.
Interestingly, the song was released years before Alaynna was born, but she has been singing it since she was young. Her mother said it’s one of her favorite songs, and Alaynna has always loved it.
“She understands why it was such a crowd-pleaser. It was like an old classic song, and I was pretty hyped up. They were surprised that a 9-year-old would be that confident,” Alaynna said.
Looking ahead, Alaynna dreams of making it big in Nashville one day. For now, she has a unique story to tell her friends when she returns to school for her summer break.