Out of the 242 Olympians who represented the United States in the 2018 Winter Games, 13 were from the Bay State. In addition, Ayla Brown, daughter of former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown, headed to Pyeongchang to sing in front of thousands in the Gangneung Hockey Centre. Brown grew up just a few miles away in Wrentham, Massachusetts, and she went to Boston College on a full scholarship in 2006 to play basketball for the Lady Eagles. Now, the former athlete represents the United States in South Korea at the Olympic games, but not as a competitor.
The four year NCAA basketball player found another calling, music, and she is preparing to tour this spring and summer with her music, featuring her newest single “Label.” Brown was also asked to sing the Star-Spangled Banner to begin the United States’ Olympic hockey matches along with a small set between periods. Brown’s singing journey has been extremely unique, as she began as a star basketball player for Boston College.
“I played basketball in college and for the longest time I hoped that I would be able to play at the professional level. But, in 2006 I competed on American Idol and my whole world changed. I fell in love with the stage and music and singing,” Brown said.
Throughout her college years, Brown was forced to juggle her responsibilities to her basketball scholarship while also writing her debut full-length album “Forward” and other music projects.
Even though both music and basketball were very close to her heart, it was easy for Brown to decide what kind of career to pursue after graduating from Boston College.
Brown is extremely grateful for athletic career at Boston College, but she decided not to pursue a career as a professional athlete.
Since her 11-track album “Forward” was released in October of 2006, Ayla Brown has been steadily working on and releasing original music.
During the olympics, Ayla lived out her fantasies.
Aside from singing in the Gangneung Hockey Centre, Brown also represented the United States in conferences, and on educational trips she was invited to take part in during her stay in South Korea.
The students taught Brown a traditional Korean song, and she taught them the National Anthem. As the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics came to a close, Ayla Brown did not fly back home to Nashville. Brown took a trip to New Zealand to see where her father, the current United States ambassador to the country, now works. Brown has posted pictures on her Facebook page along with video compilations of her travels, showing Korea and New Zealand to the public through her eyes.