Talese moved to Philadelphia in 2000 to attend University of the Arts, and she never left. Originally from Cleveland, Talese fell in love with Philly when she first visited in 1999. The color, diversity, and how much the city embraced the arts struck her immediately.
The people also stood out.
"What's kept me here is the glamour and grit," Talese said. "I think we have some of the most beautiful, soulful residents in this city with hearts of gold who will tell you about themselves and who are real and blunt. And I love that in a world where you don't know what's real and what's fake.
"But also in that there's just so much beauty – the architecture and beautiful murals and art all around the city. World-class art in every medium: films and music and fine arts and dance. It's just overflowing with a lot. I've traveled all over the world, but it's still one of my favorite cities in the world."
Throughout the years, Talese has worked tirelessly to hone her craft. It's something she prides herself on and has drawn her to become such a big fan of Jalen Hurts because of the similarities with which they carry themselves.
"(I) love Hurts," she said. "I just love his ethos. I love how laser-focused he is. I love that he has so much integrity, and he's intentional. And I love the standard to which he holds himself. As a musician myself, I'm also really into the process. … I've been studying music my entire life, and when I have performances and evaluate how I feel about them, I'm equally as laser-focused on what I can do better and how I can improve and just being my best self and not measuring myself up against anybody else."
Talese performed "Lift Every Voice and Sing" with the Philadelphia Orchestra during the pandemic and that's when the Eagles took notice. It was pure shock when she found out she'll be performing at the opener, and she'll have the help of her college friend, Adam Blackstone, who is providing the musical arrangements for her.
"I am going to sing my butt off," she said. "I'm going to have so much passion and pride just about how far this team has come. Just watching it up close and having been a part of all the celebrations, like being out in the middle of the night in Center City, driving down, wearing your gear, having been a part of that for both of the recent Super Bowls, it just adds more to what it will feel like. I'm going to be really emotionally charged and sing it from my heart." — Written by Matt Ryan