Standing on stage at The Corner Bar restaurant with her brother Brennan, sophomore Bella Henson listens to the crowd’s applause after they finish singing “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper. Through looking up chords she didn’t know on the internet, hearing and putting together different notes, Henson taught herself how to sing, play the piano and the ukulele. 

“I’ve always liked singing,” Henson said, “but ever since my brother [Brennan] started leading worship at our church and writing songs, I’ve wanted to do the same. I really look up to him and all the hard work he’s put into his music. It has inspired me to do something with my voice and musical abilities.” 

The most recent way Henson has been sharing her talents with others is through an Instagram account she created with the handle @bellahensonmusic. 

“When I first started putting out videos, I put full song covers on YouTube,” Henson said, “but the videos always took a while to make. Learning all the chords and then singing the full song was a lot to put together. I found that making shorter covers and putting them on Instagram was easier for me, so I made an account just for my music; people tend to use Instagram more anyways.”

By making shorter videos, Henson has been able to make more covers more frequently, allowing her to try different types of songs and create with different people. 

“Bella and I did a video about a year ago,” sophomore Madi Best said. “I’ve never done anything like it before and I’m so glad I did because it was such a great experience. We laughed every time we messed up, and then finally celebrated when we did it perfectly. The song we did was when she just started posting her videos, and it has been so cool seeing her progress throughout the year, especially with more song variety and more videos.” 

Regardless of who Henson works with, good times always ensue when music and covers are being produced.

“Working with Bella is really fun,” sophomore Jordyn Bommersbach said. “it always takes a lot of practicing, laughing and screaming before we get the cover perfect. But, at the end, it’s rewarding when we listen to the video and finally like how it sounds.”  

Henson’s past performances consist of only the one mentioned above at The Corner Bar, however, she does believe that music will be in her future. 

“Performing is definitely something I want to do more,” Henson said, “but it’s tough to make time for music with school and sports because those both take up a lot of time. It’d be really cool to pursue music as a career but I think I’ll just do it more on the side. I do want to move to Tennessee when I’m older, generally that’s a place where musicians will get more exposure and more opportunities to share their talents. A music career is definitely in the picture for me and as I get older I’ll decide what I want to do with it.”

Whether Henson decides to follow music as a career path or if she picks a different route, those who know her can attest to the fact that she has qualities that will make her successful in any job.

“Bella is an amazingly kind, passionate and genuine person,” Bommersbach said, “and you can hear that in her voice and facial expressions when she sings. You can tell that she loves to do it and people love listening to her.”

Listen to Henson sing “The Breakup Song” by Francesca Battistelli by clicking here.