Arielle O’Keffe, a singer-songwriter from Allen, has been picked by E! to star in it’s new program “Opening Act” which shines the spotlight on undiscovered talent.
An unknown North Texas musician is getting the chance to open for a rock legend.
E! plucked singer/songwriter Arielle from YouTube for its new show "Opening Act."
The show, which debuts Monday night, scours the Internet for performers and then gives them the chance to open for artists such as Nicki Minaj, LMFAO, Brad Paisley, Jason Mraz and Gym Class Heroes.
Arielle, whose full name is Arielle O'Keefe, will open for Rod Stewart in Las Vegas.
She said she always knew she was going to be an artist. Arielle still has the notebooks she started writing songs in when she was 5.
She started performing publicly at Potbelly's when she was 15, then came gigs in Deep Ellum and elsewhere.
Arielle calls her music a mixture of pop, jazz, soul and experimental.
"And my vocals are really jazz, soul-inspired stuff," she said. "It's very lyrical. It's different."
It's a jam all her own, which attracted the attention of "Opening Act," a reality series with no auditions and no competition.
The producers surprise them with the offer to open for a star and, within a week, they're hitting the stage.
"They came and surprised me in Dallas, took me off to a five-day boot camp, basically, and then I do the show," Arielle said.
The boot camp is filled with lessons, practice and a makeover.
"I think I went through what most artists would go through over several, several months in five days," Arielle said.
She said she now has her sights set on brighter dreams.
"And I want to be able to write my own music and record it and play it in big arenas for the rest of my life -- that would be ideal," she said.
Arielle also has encouraging advice for others.
"Never give up," she said. "Seriously, it's going to happen if you never give up and don't stop. The only way that you will fail is if you stop trying."
"Opening Act" premieres on E! at 9 p.m. Monday.
