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'Top of the mountain'

Twelve-year-old Langley singer Cole Armour's career climbs to new heights with appearance on Ellen
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Twelve-year-old Langley singer Cole Armour called his appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show last week

Ellen DeGeneres loves to introduce new talent to the world.

It’s kind of her thing.

But when the popular U.S. talk show host welcomed her musical guest to the stage on Tuesday, Oct. 18, she wasn’t telling Langley residents anything they didn’t already know — Cole Armour is a talented young singer.

Ellen’s audience, however, was in for a bit of a surprise.

Shortly after the 12-year-old launched into the 1975 Eric Carmen classic All By Myself, he hit and held a big note. As the crowd burst into a spontaneous round of applause, a wide grin spread across the young performer’s face.

Over the past few years, that face has become a familiar one on the local scene, with Cole performing regularly all across southern B.C.

Among the highlights of his budding career — opening for country-soul artist Johnny Reid in Duncan and playing the famous Merritt Mountain Music Festival.

But that was before last Tuesday.

So, where does appearing on Ellen rate?

“It’s huge. It’s the top of the mountain,” said the Grade 8 LFAS student over the phone from his Langley home.

When he learned he’d be a guest on the talk show the information was a bit hard to process at first — “kind of like a jammed printer,” — Cole explained.

But by the time he stepped onto the stage in the Burbank, Calif. studio, he insists, he was completely relaxed.

He spent a couple of minutes discussing his love of singing and passion for animals with Ellen before performing  for the live studio audience and an estimated television viewing audience of 2.7 million.

Producers chose the song from an assortment they’d heard him sing on his audition tape, said Cole.

“It was a song they really liked. I sang it a couple of years ago.”

During their brief chat, Cole told Ellen that in order to sing from the heart, “you have to be someone who has big, big feelings.”

Those emotions don’t necessarily have to stem from romantic love, the 12-year-old said later.

“They could be really about anything (a person loves),” he said, even a pet dog.

The version of All By Myself that Cole sang for Ellen was an arrangement done by Celine Dion.

“I really admire her (Dion) a lot . . . she can be powerful or soft.

“She can do anything,” said Cole, who also counts Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga among the artists who inspire him.

As for the songs he prefers to sing, Cole is drawn to any song about personal empowerment, whether it’s pop or country, R&B or opera (all genres which he’s comfortable performing).

What matters is that the audience likes it.

“I was very happy (with the audience reaction on Ellen),” said Cole.

“When they’re enjoying it, it’s the greatest feeling in the world.”

If Cole was calm from the outset of his television appearance, it took a few notes for the butterflies to settle in Ron and Lori Armour’s stomachs as they sat in the audience.

When your 12-year-old son is performing in front of millions of people,  “You really want him to sing on key,” laughed Ron. “Obviously, you want him to be at his best.”

Cole’s big break came a couple of months ago, when producers from the talk show responded to a video the family had submitted.

Lori had long been insisting that Ron send a video to her favourite daytime host.

Late one night about four months ago, after another push from his wife, Ron went downstairs, fired up iMovie, cobbled together a montage of Cole’s various appearances and emailed it to the show.

Then he shut off the computer, went to bed and promptly forgot about it.

Two month’s later, as the couple sat on their porch enjoying a drink and a bit of quiet at the end of the day, their older son Chase, 15, wandered out  and said casually, “Oh, by the way, someone from Ellen called.”

“He was just so nonchalant about it,” Lori chuckled.

Since Cole’s appearance on the US talk show, ET Canada has come calling, along with a number of other American programs, which the Armours declined to name while details are being hammered out.

He’ll tape his ET segment at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver and it will air today (Tuesday, Oct. 25).

It’s a far cry from the local festivals and contests where Cole began performing publicly, just a few years ago.

His talent for song quickly became evident when he was nine years old, singing on the family’s karaoke machine.

And he wouldn’t choose the easy songs, laughed his mom.

“He’d pick the Celine Dion.”

Cole continues to push himself, they say, adding that as parents, their role is to support and encourage him and to help him make the connections he needs — not to pressure him.

“Cole’s driving this. I’m there to fix his hair and make sure he’s got the right clothes on,” said Lori.

“We don’t push it – it’s his choice,” said Ron, who has been in the music industry himself for a number of years.

“He’s taking us on an incredible journey,” said Lori.

“He told us he wants to be the biggest star in the world.

“We always knew how amazing Cole is . . . now the world is getting to hear him.”

For Cole, the message of personal power extends beyond simple song lyrics, to making an actual difference in the world.

“When I get rich and famous, I can help people, but where do I start?” he once asked his mom.

“Then this whole thing with Maria (Martini) came along,” said Lori.

Martini and her non-profit  society Food for Famine, manufacture and distribute Cibo, a nutrient-packed, peanut-based food which the Langley organization ships to Third World countries.

Recently, they approached Cole and asked him to represent them.

“His role will be like an ambassador,” said Lori.

“Any success Cole has, this (Cibo for Children) will always be a part of what he’s doing.”

•••

Up next, Cole will perform with members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the Red Robinson Show lounge as he headlines the David Foster Foundation’s Kids Helping Kids benefit concert, on Nov.18.

He won’t be the only Langley singer to hit the stage that night. Shylo Sharity and sisters Robyn and Ryleigh Gillespie are also scheduled to perform.

Tickets for the event, including dinner are $125. For balcony seats to the show only, they’re $55.

Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.ca.

To learn more about Cole or to listen to/purchase songs from his new album, go to colearmour.com.