For someone who is only 16, gospel singer DaMarra Chanel Underwood already has a resume that rivals that of a professional singer's.

A significant addition to that resume will come this week when the eyes and ears of the world will be on her as she sings for first lady Michelle Obama and the wives of the world leaders attending the G-20 summit. The official delegation will tour her school, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, Downtown, on Friday.

The Chartiers City resident has performed three times on KDKA's "The Pittsburgh Today Show"; for Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato's inauguration at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall; at a Hillary Clinton rally at Heinz Field; and for a welcoming reception for Steelers coach Mike Tomlin at the Concordia Club in Oakland.

"She's sung in front of an audience of 8,000 four times at the Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Walk and once in front of 12,000 people at the Great Race in Oakland," said her father and manager, Howard Underwood.

"Never once has she gotten stage fright," he said.

The young singer has released her first CD, a 12-track disc of carefully selected old gospel songs titled "Ol' Skool Gospel" and recorded at Mr. Small's Studio on the North Side.

DaMarra, who uses the stage name DaMarra Chanel, sings not only the lead on the CD but also provides the backup soprano, alto and tenor voices on songs such as "Amazing Grace," "Yes, Jesus Loves Me," "The Lord's Prayer" and "His Eye is on the Sparrow."

For the music accompaniment, the singer's father handpicked veteran Pittsburgh percussionists Roger Humphries Sr. and Roger Humphries Jr.; keyboardist and arranger Ida Turner, who is church pianist at the Underwoods' Metropolitan Baptist Church; bass Lorenze Jefferson; and saxophonist Derek Redd.

"We knew that DaMarra could sing, and the musicians knew they could play, but no one imagined the CD would come out as good as it is," Mr. Underwood said. "Each song starts out in a traditional style and, as they go along, the musicians put their own personal touches and creativity into the music."

Until this year, when she started to sing with a recorded track, DaMarra had always sung a cappella.

"If her CD player would break down while she's performing, she'd be able to carry on without it," Mr. Underwood said.

On her Web site, www.damarrachanel.com, DaMarra names church deaconess Delores Feabry and deacon Jeff Cullens as her singing mentors. For her favorite gospel singers, she places Mahalia Jackson and Yolanda Adams at the top of her list.

"I also like to say that I consider myself fortunate to have such supportive and involved parents," she said.

Her mother, Gloria, an administrative assistant at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, helps her select her performance wardrobe and handles the details of each engagement.

DaMarra's exceptional singing voice was first noticed in the third grade at Chartiers Elementary School when her music teacher picked her for the All City Choir. She also asked her to sing "I Believe I Can Fly" at the school's fifth-grade graduation.

"When DaMarra finished singing, the audience applauded for a very long time, and some even asked her to sing at their churches," Mr. Underwood said. "Things just seemed to escalate from there."

At CAPA, she is a high honors student and president of the senior class. After graduating, DaMarra would like to continue singing gospel and enroll in college, where she intends to major in music business management. Eventually, she'd like to go on to law school and specialize in entertainment law.

"Someday, I'd like to sing on Broadway and maybe even at the Metropolitan Opera of New York," she said.

"Ol' Skool Gospel" is expected to be available at the end of November at cdbaby.com.

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