Winona State University junior and Army Reserve Specialist Christine Tollison never imagined that signing up for the Army Reserves in 2002, and heading to Iraq in January 2004, would lead to the showcasing of her singing talent and some extensive media exposure.

Tollison, a WSU graphic design major with music and mass communication minors, was one of three people selected to perform on CBS's The Late Show with David Letterman on March 31,  2005, during its show-and-tell segment. Tollison was selected to entertain the show's audience and viewers with her excellent singing abilities.

Tollison was first recognized on Christmas Eve in Iraq at her air base where she worked at a post office and performed at base events for pleasure. The Late Show with David Letterman was broadcasting a special holiday show and sought talent within the troops.

Tollison said the producers of The Late Show and Paul Shaffer, Letterman's musical director, were looking for someone to sing either "God Bless America" or the National Anthem.   Tollison was known for performing at base events, which is why she said she was recommended to Schaffer.

"I suggested a few songs he didn't like, but I thought of 'Let's hear it for the Boy' from the movie 'Footloose,' and Schaffer said it would work, " said Tollison.

She sang that song for the 40-minute Late Show in Iraq, and at the end of the show she sang "God Bless America" with others serving in Iraq.

"Overall my performance went really well," said Tollison. "I never would have thought I would have to be deployed to Iraq to get discovered."

When Tollison returned home from Iraq in the spring, her experiences with The Late Show were still fresh in her mind. Her father, whom Tollison says acts as her agent, called The Late Show asking if the show would like Tollison to perform again now that she was home from Iraq, and the show accepted the offer. Tollison said she never seriously considered pursuing a professional music career, despite her music minor, but she was anxious to see what her performance would generate.

"I haven't had any calls from record labels saying they want me, but singing 45 seconds of a song doesn't really display a person's talent, " said Tollison.

She was able to invite four friends to watch her sing at the show, and The Late Show paid for her airfare and the airfare for one other person. 

"I had three friends watching me from the balcony, one of which is a friend from Winona State, and I had a marine friend from Michigan sitting next to me," said Tollison. "We were all in uniform, and the audience was amazingly receptive."

She was asked to sign a few autographs after her performance on the show, and she said she even received some "serious air time" from the media before and after her Letterman performances. 

"I didn't know about half of the media outlets that covered me, but I was excited to hear clips of my performance were shown on Good Morning America," said Tollison. "WKBT-TV News Channel 8 interviewed me and a New York radio station had me sing a little on air while driving to the airport."

While in New York City for two days, Tollison and her friends visited the site of the World Trade Center bombing, took the subway and were invited to a birthday party for one of Letterman's production assistants. 

"I'm not stressing out about whether or not I'm going to have a music career, or if I'll be able to finish school before I go back to Iraq," said Tollison. "I'm taking it one day at a time."

She said she experienced every emotion while serving in Iraq. 

"At times I was happy and other times it was stressful to be there, but my experiences with Letterman were fun," said Tollison. 

She is enlisted until 2010, and has an obligation to go back, but she will most likely volunteer to go back to Iraq before she is deployed again. 

"I was anxious when I first flew to Iraq, but I got used to my environment and the intensity, which often had my blood rushing and heart pounding," said Tollison. "My base in Southern Iraq has only had a few base attacks, but details are confidential, and I'm lucky it was only a few."

Tollison is scheduled to sing for the WNBA Minnesota Lynx opening basketball game this season and is considering joining the Fort Snelling Soldier Show, which is an army choir that tours around the world for nine months. She has also mentioned an interest in singing the national anthem at a few WSU sporting events.

Tollison currently works for Chartwell's catering on the WSU campus and is taking summer classes at WSU before she registers for fall classes. She hopes to graduate from WSU in the next couple of years but is still making sure to take it one day at a time.

She's participating in the Winona Idol competition, a local rendition of the hit FOX television show American Idol, which means it's possible she's on her way to singing stardom, and WSU will have heard about her before she hits it big.

Last Modified: Friday, November 04, 2005 15:31 by Rhone Richard