13 year-old Zionsville girl releases music on iTunes
By Sophie Pappas
School, friends, church, family … and a debut single on iTunes; this is the life of 13 year-old Sophia Joelle Petts, a Zionsville Middle School student who is making waves with her vocal chords.
Living in Zionsville her whole life, the youngest of the Petts brood is making a name for herself. Known as simply Sophia Joelle to her fans, she is what one reviewer on iTunes calls an amazing singer and songwriter.
Labeled pop music for her youthful genre, Sophia Joelle presents herself with an air of country and folk influence, no doubt a nod to her horse-loving Hoosier family.
“I write all my own music,” Sophia said. “And I always love to perform. I just love being able to connect with the audience, because that’s what performing is really all about.”
Hoosier roots
Dan Petts, Sophia’s dad, has called his youngest daughter a “total entertainer” from the time she could walk.
“She would sing in the shower, and all around the house,” he said. “She’s even written a song in the shower and had to call out ‘Hey mom! Come write this lyric down!’”
Dan said that Sophia’s generation is so talented, that many of her friends share her passion for theater and singing, which has encouraged Sophia to pursue her passions.
“She started in Christian theater, which developed her love of performing,” he said. “And it really helped her faith. But let me tell you, many of these kids are so talented. The kids around Sophia are the most creative kids I’ve ever met.”
Sophia’s three older siblings have histories of being small-town successes here in Zionsville as well. Her oldest sister, Olivia, is in law school, and her brother, Harrison, is captain of the Indiana University State Champion Soccer Team. Another sister, Emma, is a student at IUPUI and performs around the country singing and doing theater.
“What Sophia’s doing is a lot more fun than soccer,” Dan said. “And even though Emma is also a performer, Sophia is the one that’s constantly singing in the house. She really drives the bus and she really wants to be famous. That’s something the other kids don’t have.”
Jody Petts, Sophia’s mom, is the one who travels everywhere with her daughter for shows and auditions.
“It’s just so much fun,” Dan said.
A girl and her guitar
For Sophia, it all comes down to sitting down with her guitar and creating new melodies. Recently, she traveled to Los Angeles for performance auditions, and made a trip to New York City, where she performed at Pop City Tour’s The Bitter End.
“It was so cool because they let you sing your own original songs,” she said.
Sophia said that even though she is starting to perform in different parts of the country, she is still a normal seventh-grader and hopes to have a concert in Zionsville soon.
“All of my friends are all super supportive of what I’m doing, and there’s no jealousy or anything because they are all talented too,” she said. “I just love to sing and my goal is to keep doing that.”
Last week, Sophia’s latest song, titled “Hit the Road” broke on iTunes. It is available for purchase now.
All about Sophia Joelle
Favorite color: purple
Instruments Sophia plays: Alto saxophone, piano, guitar, ukulele
Favorite food: chocolate cake
Favorite animal: red panda
Favorite day of the week: Sunday
Hobbies: reading, creative writing – short stories, plays, lyrics, filmmaking, playing guitar and ukulele.
Birthday: Sep. 28, 2000
Siblings: Olivia, 23, Harrison, 22, and Emma,19
Performances by Sophia Joelle
“Sharpay” in High School Musical, Christian Youth Theater, Nov 2013
“Annie” in Annie, Zionsville Middle School Theater, Nov 2013
“Hannah” in Rupert Boneham’s Frightmares, Episode 1, Oct 2013
Featured Artist at PopCity Tour NYC, The Bitter End, Aug 2013
“Martha” in The Secret Garden, Westfield Playhouse, July 2013
“Denton” in Newsies, Christian Youth Theater, May 2013
“Betsy Cratchit” in A Christmas Carol, Indiana Repertory Theater, Dec 2012
“Lucy” in Narnia: The Musical, Christian Youth Theater, Nov 2011
“JoJo” in Seusical Jr., Christian Youth Theater, May 2011
“Daughter” in Mulan Jr., Christian Youth Theater, Feb 2010
