U OUGHT TO KNOW.

Byline: - Sandra Barrera

ASELIN DEBISON 

Age: 12

Profession: Singer

Why U ought to know her: Folk singer Aselin Debison has reduced coal miners to tears, signed a five-record deal with Sony and graced the Queen of England with a rootsy repertoire of Celtic-inspired tunes.

``She said my performance was beautiful,'' recalls Aselin, who now stars in the one-hour PBS concert special, ``Sweet Is the Melody,'' scheduled next week on local stations.

The program - titled after her debut CD, issued in October - features the young soprano performing on a stage set against the backdrop of her hometown of Glace Bay, a small fishing community on Nova Scotia's wind- swept Cape Breton coast.

It was there that Aselin made her professional singing debut during a rally protesting the Canadian government's closing of coal mines. Her moving rendition of the Cape Breton anthem ``The Island'' started the then 9-year-old girl on her way to a promising singing career.

Aselin's homage to the once-proud coal miners is now one of the 14 tracks on her debut. The CD features folk tunes as well as popular favorites such as the ``Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World'' medley in which she performs in the style of Hawaii's late, great Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

She writes, too: ``I co-wrote 'The Dance You Choose' with Bruce Guthro, a huge Canadian artist who I must say is like a mentor and an idol to me. I started performing with him when I was 9, and ever since then we've worked together tons of times. He's kind of like a second dad to me.''

Soaking up her celebrity: ``I think it's really cool because of the age I am that I've gotten to put the CD out and travel to all these new places and meet all these great people.''

Life on the island: ``Glace Bay is a little, friendly town. A lot of people have moved away, not only from Glace Bay but from Cape Breton, because mining and fishing were the two big things here - and since the coal mining has been shut down, it's only been fishing. And you can only have so many fishermen.''

No fishermen here: ``My dad's a landscaper, and he's a volunteer firefighter.''

Plucked from the crowd: ``I went to an Irish preschool, so every year we put on St. Patrick's Day concerts. Some of the boys and girls were picked for dancing. I was just one of the girls picked for singing.''

A folk singer at heart: ``I really like singing what I'm singing now, because it represents where I'm from. So I think I'll just stick to what I'm doing. At least for now.''

Her PBS special: ``It was mostly all fun for me because it was something new. On the special, I do all of the songs on the album except for 'The Gift.' I'm not really 100 percent sure (why) - I just think 'The Gift' is more of a Christmas song, and they want to be able to show the tape pretty much all year round.''

U don't say: Aselin's favorite pastime is playing and watching basketball. Her favorite teams, she says, are the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers.

Where U can see her: ``Aselin Debison: Sweet Is the Melody'' airs 12:30 p.m. Monday on KOCE-TV (Channel 50) and 11 a.m. Dec. 8 on KVCR-TV (Channel 24).

Information: www.aselin.com.

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no caption (ASELIN DEBISON)