She's Got Talent: Vocal Performance Senior Wins Singing Competition
Posted on March 24, 2025
After years of study, rehearsal, performance and sheer dedication to music, Desirée Whitehead stood on a stage in Las Vegas before an audience of thousands applauding her win in an international music competition.
Whitehead, a vocal performance student who is scheduled to graduate in May with a Bachelor of Music from the University of South Alabama, had never sung before so many people.
The twist: None of it would have happened if she had quit her day job.
This was the annual “Lowe’s Has Talent” competition. After a callout for video auditions came out in the fall, Whitehead’s co-workers at the Lowe’s at Airport Boulevard and Schillinger Road persuaded her to join the pool of thousands of employees from stores throughout the U.S. and India.
Two weeks later, she got the call: She was one of 12 finalists. After an initial trip to Vegas to meet the other performers and production crew, there were weeks of online rehearsals and check-ins. Then came the final performances at the Venetian Hotel in February.
The finalists were divided into groups and soloists.
Whitehead, a soprano, was the vocal centerpiece of a classical trio called Symphony of Dreams, together with a guitarist and violinist performing the popular opera piece “Nella Fantasia.” It was a departure from the upbeat vibes of their competitors: an R&B quartet, a country music quartet and a country soloist. The contest coincided with the corporation’s meeting of managers, who all seemed to be country fans.
When the giant screens surrounding the stage lit up announcing Symphony of Dreams as the winner, “my mouth dropped open,” Whitehead said. “It was kind of a shock.” Each group member won $5,000 — in addition to the $1,000 they’d received just for making the finals.
She stood beaming centerstage in a green satin and sequin evening gown — which she got to keep — as sparks shot up from the stage corners and the crowd roared. It was one of those unforgettable moments.
A Turnaround
Just four years ago, Whitehead almost gave up her music dreams. When she arrived from Birmingham as a freshman at South with a music scholarship, she decided to minor in music. She couldn’t see her life without a solid background in the art she loved. But she struggled to read music — a skill she’d learned years ago — and music theory left her in a fog. Her confidence plummeted.
“When I first got to South, I was very quiet,” she said. “It was easy for me to fade into the background.”
Feeling defeated, she dropped her music classes and focused on earning a degree in elementary education.
Still, the lifelong urge to sing never left her. Later that first year, she learned about an upcoming spring production and emailed Dr. Thomas Rowell, professor of music, coordinator of vocal studies and director of USA Opera Theatre. Despite her initial nerves, she was ready to audition for the opera “Elixir of Love.”
Rowell encouraged her, and she became a cast member.
“That opera will always have a special place in my heart because that was the opera that made me realize, ‘This is where you belong. You need to come back, and it’s going to be a lot better than it was the first time,’” she said.
A week into her sophomore year, she changed her major to music.
‘I’ve been here ever since. I’ve grown so much since then, so fast. Everything was clicking,” she said. “I was taking voice lessons. I was given opportunities to do roles. It couldn’t have gone any better than it did.”
Up next, Whitehead will play Eurydice in USA Opera Theatre’s production of “Orpheus in the Underworld” on March 28 and 30 on campus at the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center, her final performance at South.
Rowell said Whitehead’s work ethic and persistence have proven to be a big factor in her success. “She has a quiet tenacity that serves her quite well in preparing for her performances and she is incredibly reliable as a performer,” Rowell said. “I am absolutely as proud of her as I can be.”
Another mentor, Dr. Laura Moore, chair of the music department and director of choral activities, collaborated with Whitehead on her video audition for the Lowe’s competition.
“What I have seen of Desirée over her time at South includes incredible growth in her commitment to digging deeper in her studies, both academic and vocal,” said Moore.
Whitehead’s long-term plans include graduate school and a performance career. While most aspiring artists land in New York City, she said she’s open to go anywhere.
“I like to consider myself to be a sponge. I soak up everything, because there are too many good things out there – good places, good music, good operas — to just narrow it down to one. And I’d like to experience as much as I can.”
