AUSTIN, Texas — Mia Garcia is a 6th grade prodigy taking the Tejano Music industry by storm.
"A lot of people compare me to Selena and I want to live up to that," Garcia said. "But I wanna be my own person, I want to be Mia."
Mia has earned that comparison during her short career. She's already the youngest artist ever to be nominated for a Tejano Music award.
"It’s a great accomplishment, it shows how much I worked for this," she said.
The 11-year-old grew up on stage singing backup for her mother at local karaoke events. Her father, Christopher said she was born into a musical family.
"My wife would always be singing whether it would be lullabys or classic songs," Christopher Garcia said. "She would sing along and we finally figured out she could hold a tune, hold a note."
There's more to Mia than music. She still enjoys doing everything any other 11-year-old would do.
"I do gymnastics, karate, guitar and horseback riding," she said.
For the rest of this month, Mia will focus on making it to the next round of voting to win her award this fall. Until then, she’ll keep using her music to be an inspiration to others.
"Always be you, listen to your parents and stay in school cause school is always first," she said.
Win or lose, Mia's success is already being recognized. Last year, Mayor Steve Adler proclaimed Oct. 5th to be Mia Garcia Day as a way to celebrate her commitment to music.