As senior Sela Campbell enters the American Idol audition room, judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan are seated right in front of her, waiting to hear her sing. Sela begins strumming her guitar for her performance of “Tin Man” by Miranda Lambert.

By the end of her audition, the judges are impressed.

“I got a yes from all three of them,” Sela said. “Luke Bryan said he liked my Appalachian-like soul, and Katy Perry said she was really impressed by how I carried myself.”

Sela even received a hug from Richie.

Her audition in Leesburg, Georgia was a success, and Perry handed her a Golden Ticket that sent her straight to Hollywood.

With Dolly Parton as her lifelong inspiration, Sela has been singing all her life. In fact, the first song she learned to play on her guitar was “Jolene.”

Sela started performing at the age of eight, and has been doing gigs at venues and bars in Loudoun County since eleven.

When one day, a musician by the name of Todd Brooks came across a video of Sela singing on Instagram, he invited her to open for his band at one of their gigs.

“I was given the title ‘LOCO Rising Star’ at the concert,” Sela said. The money raised at the gig also went to Sela, which allowed her to buy her first sound system.

With the right materials and supplies, Sela began performing at three hour paid shows at local venues.

“My career shot off,” Sela said. “I was afraid that people would judge me or make fun of me for my passion. It took me a couple of gigs to come out of my shell, but eventually, I gained confidence.”

Senior Helena Campbell, Sela’s twin sister, claims that Sela has been singing since she could remember.

“She was always singing songs as a kid around the house,” Helena said. “It’s been really fun and interesting to watch as she progresses through her music career, and she starts to accomplish more.”

As she’s flourished into the singer she is today, Sela has further moved along her artistic journey by releasing an original single, titled “One Track Mind,” which came out in February.

“It’s done really well,” Sela said. “It’s gotten thousands of streams.”

Sela also claimed that she is working on more songs and says that “there will be other ones coming, hopefully.”

A couple weeks ago, County organized a “Concert on the Lawn,” an event created for students and staff to enjoy and celebrate seventy years since the opening of the school. Sela was asked to perform.

“It was such a cool thing to be a part of such a historic celebration for the school,” Sela said. During her hour-long act, she sang songs like “Country Roads,” “Wagon Wheel,” and even branched out from her genre to sing “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele.

“Just being friends with her, I’ve seen the venues that she goes to are growing. She has more followers and more fans. She’s been playing for bigger crowds,” senior Charlotte Edmonds said, who has been friends with Sela since 2021. “That’s been cool to witness.”

In 2022, Sela won “Best Soloist” in the Loudoun County Battle of the Bands. She was featured on the cover of an issue of the “Get Out Loudoun” magazine, and has also won Best of Loudoun’s “Best Musician” award.

As she continues to grow, Sela plans for the future. She hopes to continue playing music, along with writing and recording songs.

“I hope to do what I love: share my stories with the world through performing my music,” Sela said.