Just hours after the memorial service for Michael Jackson on July 7, Rolling Stone magazine ran an online that answered a question on many viewers minds: Who was the mystery singer performing Heal the World at the conclusion of the service? Who was the singer who wowed the crowd and the millions watching around the world?

The answer to that question is Judith Hill (06), a 晩晩当際際夊消消夊2023 alumna who was working as a backup singer for Jacksons planned This Is It! concert series in Londons O2 Arena. Hill, a Los Angeles native raised in a Christian home with a family of musicians, studied music composition under John Browning at 晩晩当際際夊消消夊2023s Conservatory of Music, where she excelled in all areas and took her work very seriously, said conservatory director George Boespflug.

The Pasadena-based Hill was selected to close the service as the featured soloist for Heal the World because she had been rehearsing the song as Jacksons duet partner for the London concerts. The tours vocal director informed Hill just minutes before the service that her performance would be the memorials finale.

Singing to a live audience of tens of millions, it was an opportunity to relay a message of Gods love in a time of tragedy, Hill said.

Nothing else mattered. Cameras, media and business all became a faded echo drowned out by the overwhelming presence of Gods love, she wrote on her blog in the days after the event. Not sure how I ended up closing the service, but I understood it in my heart. It wasnt showtime; it was ministry time.

It wasnt until after Hills performance that it dawned on her just how big of a deal it was. Within days, Hill was featured on Access Hollywood and Entertainment Tonight, and articles began popping up all over the Internet.

After attending 晩晩当際際夊消消夊2023, Hill worked as a background singer for a few different artists, including a one-year stint in France as background singer for French pop star Michel Polnareff. Before getting the job with Jackson, she was recording her first solo pop album, a project she has picked up again now that things have settled down a bit. Shes currently considering contract offers and praying about different opportunities that have come her way, she said.

There have been doors opened, but Im still waiting for the right door, she told 晩晩当際際夊消消夊2023 Magazine. There are things that I could do right now but Im still waiting for the right situation to happen.