Before she was even old enough to attend kindergarten, Kelsey Klingensmith wanted to perform.
In fact, the Moville, Iowa, native would enter the Bill Riley Talent Search contest at the Woodbury County Fair, wowing audiences with her acrobatic dancing.
And what would the precocious Kelsey do for an encore?
She'd entertain her brothers with an impromptu concert in the back seat of the family's car.
"Kelsey would sing Rodney Atkins' 'Watching You,'" remembered Kelsey's mom, Tammy Klingensmith. "As much as Kelsey enjoyed dance, it became obvious that she was born to sing."
Since she made the switch from being a dancer who sang to a country singer-songwriter who played the guitar, Kelsey has written more than 100 songs and released a CD ("Live, Laugh, Love") of all original material.
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Oh, and did we mention Kelsey just turned 13 years old?
"Even as a little girl, Kelsey has always known she wanted to be a singer," dad Brian Klingensmith who, like Tammy, is a Sioux City North Middle School teacher, said. "This is her dream."
Kelsey's dream frequently involves performing several times a week, including scheduled appearances at the Cherokee, Sioux and Woodbury County Fairs.
Entertaining a hometown crowd at Moville's Woodbury County Fairgrounds holds a special significance to Kelsey since this is where she first fell in love with performing.
"It's awesome to be able to perform in front of my family and friends," she said inside the music room set up in her parents' home. "Everyone's been so supportive of me and this is a way I'll be able to give something back."
As her eyes dart to the horses in the back of the Klingensmiths' rural Moville residence, Kelsey gives another reason for her hometown affection.
"Guess I'm a country girl at heart," she said. "Always have been, always will be."
Her love of the rural lifestyle will be reflected in a song, "Country Mess," which will be appearing in Kelsey's soon-to-be-released second CD.
In fact, Kelsey spent three weeks in June, recording material in Nashville as part of the still-untitled release, all under the watchful eye of Jimmy Nichols, musical director for country superstar Faith Hill.
Befriending Kelsey's family more than a year ago, Nichols has acted as a mentor for the burgeoning singer.
"Jimmy got his start in show business when he was around Kelsey's age," Tammy Klingensmith noted. "Because of that, he connects with Kelsey like nobody else can."
Through Nichols, Kelsey has been able to use some of Faith Hill's backup singers on her recording, be photographed by the photographer of Jason Aldean and record in the same studios as Reba McEntire.
"Knowing that Reba recorded in the same studio as me is incredible," Kelsey said.
But, is it intimidating?
Well, it would be if Kelsey wasn't so self-assured.
Writing music that comes from life, the country music singer seems more mature than her years.
"I didn't want to go to Nashville and have people treat me like a stupid, little kid," Kelsey admitted. "Instead, everybody treated me like a peer."
But that isn't to say that Kelsey didn't enjoy pulling pranks on her mentor Nichols.
"I'd hide the keys to his Mercedes all the time and hid behind doors in hopes of scaring him," she recalled. "Yeah, I got him good."
Despite it all, Kelsey knows there is a time for levity and time for hard work.
Fortunately, people are beginning to take notice.
According to Tammy Klingensmith, her daughter has an open invitation to try out for Fox's "The X Factor" but Kelsey prefers taking her career a route similar to such idols as Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Martina McBride.
"I want my music to have a message," Kelsey explained. "That's something that will never change."
Still Kelsey admits her school friends, at times, have a problem connecting with her.
"I've been doing a lot of things quietly," she said. "But as things begin to move faster, it will become harder to keep things under wraps."
As she prepares for her shot at country music stardom, Kelsey knows she will always be the little girl who loved going to the county fair.
"I've been going to the fair since I was a baby," she said, reflecting upon past fairs. "I consider myself to be blessed to be able to perform at the fairs that I love."
