FERRIDAY — Even though Brandon O’Conner had never heard of Whitney Houston until she died, he knew he was honoring a musical legend Tuesday when he performed her classic song “The Greatest Love of All” in front of a packed gymnasium.

The Ferriday Junior High School sixth grader was given the lyrics and a first listen to Houston’s classic song just a week before he was set to perform at the school’s Black History Month program.

“I didn’t even know about her until I watched her funeral on TV,” O’Conner said. “I listened to the song, studied the lyrics and learned the song. I listened to more of her stuff on the Internet though. She’s really good.”

With no reservations or hesitations, O’Conner took the stage and wowed the junior high audience.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking, but it’s a lot of fun,” O’Conner said. “It feels good when people compliment you on your singing afterwards.”

Not unlike many other famous singers before him, O’Conner said he discovered his talent at an early age.

“Around the first grade I was listening to myself on my mom’s phone where I had recorded myself singing,” O’Conner said. “And I just thought, ‘Wow I sound pretty good.’”

In the fourth grade O’Conner decided it was time to sing in front of a bigger audience than his parents and friends by singing “Blessed be the Name.”

“That first time, my knees were buckling and I was really nervous, but after I felt great,” O’Conner said. “It’s been a lot easier since that first time.”

O’Conner also sang “Silent Night” at the school’s Christmas program in December.

More than just a set of pipes, O’Conner said balancing academics and singing is just as important.

“School is more important because school is what’s going to get me into college to study music,” O’Conner said.

Last year, O’Conner took home a shiny new bicycle after getting the top score out of the entire school on the iLEAP test.

While the test itself didn’t bring any anxiety, the fact that it pitted him against his best friend Calvin Sherbia might have kept him up the night before.

“I knew if I won it he would be mad at me, and if he won I would be mad at him,” O’Conner said. “He started looking at me with angry eyes after I won. He got second place and got to pick some prizes, so I think he was just jealous, not mad.”

And even though there are no prizes this year, O’Conner said high-test grades are still important if he wants to accomplish his goal of becoming a lawyer, actor and singer.

“I want to go to college for four years to study law first, then drama and then study singing,” O’Conner said. “That way if I don’t make it on one, I can try the other and have something else to fall back on.”

Counselor Kelvin Lyons runs the choir group at the junior high school and said O’Conner’s performance on Tuesday echoed throughout the parish.

“He performed in Ferriday, but by the time I got back to Vidalia, I was already hearing people talk about it,” Lyons said. “He has a very powerful voice for his age.”

Lyons said O’Conner’s balance of academics and music is a strong indicator of how far he will go in life.

“I think he’s going to move and shake a lot of people’s lives,” Lyons said. “He’s one student that I’m really looking forward to seeing go forward and succeed in life.”