However, Samantha Pack of Saratoga doesn't let a little strep throat get her down. Despite a nasty cough and a 101-degree fever, she put on a skirt and a smile and sang "The Star Spangled Banner" for a crowd of thousands on Feb. 17 at the HP Pavilion.

Samantha, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Redwood Middle School, is making quite a name for herself as a rising young singing talent. From musical theater to recording her own CD to performing at the HP Pavilion, she's showing she has what it takes to make a career out of her favorite hobby.

Samantha has been a budding musician since the age of 3, when she began taking piano lessons. She joined her first choir in fifth grade and continued on at Redwood. Then she caught the eye of vocal instructor Margie Alejandro. Alejandro is the music director for all of Saratoga's elementary schools, but Samantha's father, Bill Pack, says she rarely takes a private client, so Samantha was honored when she was accepted. Eventually, Alejandro would help Samantha record her own CD, Blue, of some of her best show tune performances.

Samantha began participating in vocal competitions in both duets and solos at Redwood. She has since earned numerous "Superior" and "Command Performance" honors.

Adding to her diverse repertoire, Samantha began performing with musical theater groups around the Bay Area, such as Peninsula Youth Theater, Children's Festival Theater and California Theater Center. Some of her roles were Alma Hix in The Music Man, Clarice in The Little Mermaid and Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, and she will portray Gertrude McFuzz in her school's production of Seussical next month.

Samantha's parents are wildly supportive of her singing dream. In fact, it was good ol' Dad who helped her land her biggest singing role so far--performing the national anthem for thousands at the HP Pavilion.

In January, KRTY radio announced a contest that would award one lucky young singer the chance to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" at a Harlem Globetrotters game. Naturally, Samantha jumped at the chance.

Luckily for her, higher-ups at the HP Pavilion were listening that day.

Not long after, Samantha's father heard that the HP Pavilion in San Jose was looking for singers to perform the national anthem for various events, and contacted them.

Since the Pavilion's staff had heard Samantha sing on KRTY, they called back and asked if they could get a recording of Samantha singing both the American and Canadian national anthems.

The Packs panicked--they had no recordings of Samantha singing the songs. In fact, Samantha didn't even know "O Canada."

But, Samantha has never been one to shy away from a challenge. While his daughter frantically downloaded sheet music for
"O Canada" off the Internet and plucked away the notes on piano, Dad called every recording studio in the Bay Area. He booked her in the first one that had an opening that day.

Amazingly, within two hours of the Pavilion's phone call, the Pack family was handing over a CD of Samantha singing "O Canada" and "The Star Spangled Banner."

The hard work paid off--Samantha was asked to sing the national anthem during the SAP Open tennis championships on Feb. 17.

However, that morning Samantha opened her eyes to a painful cough and a 101.7-degree fever.

"I was freaking out," Samantha admits.

Nonetheless, Samantha was determined to make the performance. Warming up her voice gingerly, she got dressed, and the Packs drove to the Pavilion.

It was the 12th annual Kids Day--students from several Bay Area schools were on hand at the Pavilion to watch stars such as John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi battle it out on the courts.

Samantha says she doesn't normally get nervous, but she was afraid her voice might not come through--she definitely had strep throat.

When the children in the audience heard she was from Saratoga, they screamed in appreciation.

"Here she is folks, Samantha Pack!" said the announcer.

It was as if her illness evaporated, just for a moment. Samantha gave another one of her "command performances," and the audience rewarded her with thunderous applause.

"The sound of applause gives me goosebumps; it gives me chills down my spine," Samantha says, recalling how it felt to hear thousands of people cheer for her.

It was a day the Pack family will always remember--especially when they got to see her on ESPN.