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Rockland Grandmother Uses Quarantine Karaoke To Launch A Singing Career

ROCKLAND (CBS) – Terri Hafner Riley has become a local internet sensation from her living room.

The 53-year-old grandmother is a veteran and a teaching assistant in the Quincy school system, but her secret dream – since childhood – has been to sing professionally.

"I'd stand at the top of the stairs and sing out loud," she told WBZ-TV. "It's silly, but as a kid it's something you dream about."

Little did Terri know the pandemic would give her that opportunity, when a friend suggested she try a new page on Facebook called Quarantine Karaoke.

Terri joined the page and, standing in her living room in her pajamas, started belting out hits.

With a little Janice Joplin and a little Stevie Nicks in her voice, she quickly exploded in popularity.

"I couldn't even keep up with the comments," she said. "Because I like to reply to every single one, at least like their comment, and I just couldn't keep up. I just kept hearing plung, plung, plung."

She's now a featured singer on the page and was invited to sing at the Rockland Days concert series. In fact, Terri is now looking for musicians to form a band with her and her husband, who's an accomplished guitarist.

Terri Hafner Riley
Terri Hafner Riley. (WBZ-TV)

"I'm not a spring chicken anymore, so at my age to be able to do this and actually people like my singing at my age to me is huge."

You can find Terri on her Facebook page or at YouTube.

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