VOORHEESVILLE — A local teen singer is competing to perform the national anthem at the New York State Fair in Syracuse between Aug. 27 and Sept. 7.

Annie Scherer of Voorheesville, 15, daughter of Winnie Yu Scherer and Jeff Scherer, is one of approximately 275 entrants to the “Oh, Say Can You Sing the National Anthem at the Great New York State Fair?” online competition. Entries may be seen at https://www.facebook.com/nysfair?v=app_486254294756872&rest=1. Visitors to the fair’s website have until Aug. 7 to vote for their favorites.

Twelve winners will be selected. Each winner will sing or play the anthem live twice — at 9:30 a.m. to kick off the festivities, and then again at 1:30 p.m., at the start of equestrian competitions — on one of the fair’s 12 days.

Annie Scherer will be in 11th grade at Voorheesville’s Clayton A. Bouton High School in the fall. “Music’s a big part of my life,” she told The Enterprise. She loves to perform and hopes to be very successful as a singer some day.

She is also a composer. Her tastes are eclectic, she says, so she tends to write songs in various genres. “I like a lot of old music, such as ’80s pop or an old R&B/soul style that a lot of artists from Motown had,” so there is some of that in her music. She also likes alternative music, “including songs that are minor and a little bit dark.”

Among the musicians she loves are Lana del Ray, Marina and the Diamonds, Melanie Martinez, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley.

In recent years, a number of well-known singers of the notoriously difficult national anthem, like Beyonce or Christina Aguilera, have added many extra embellishments here and there, for interest and, presumably, to show off their vocal prowess. Scherer sings the anthem in a straightforward manner, and adds only a few “riffs and runs,” particularly at the end.

“I had to practice a lot and figure out how I wanted to do it,” she said. “I know when I hear people singing it, I often prefer the original.” She wanted to have some, but make sure that she didn’t overdo, the embellishments. 

To listen to Scherer’s version, go to http://bit.ly/1fQdsD6. There is also a button there, next to her video, to click on if you would like to vote for her. It is possible to vote once every hour.