Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska -- “I have been given a gift and I’m not about to let it go to waste.”
Senior Airman Rebeckah Hastings, 773d Logistics Readiness Squadron transportation journeyman, grew up surrounded by music, with her father being a part of various bands. She would go to most of his concerts and this was the root of her inspiration to start singing.
“All credit and praise goes to God for blessing me with such a treasured gift,” Hastings said. “To me, it feels like ‘not singing’ is a direct insult to God and an act of selfishness to not share my gift with others to enjoy.”
She didn’t always feel this way. At the start of her career, she fell to fits of insecurity and doubt, but never stopped singing and performing. Her first real performance was in her junior year of high school.
“People told me that I did great, but my self-confidence said otherwise,” Hastings said. “So much has changed and I have come a long way since I joined the military.”
Before she joined, her husband’s first base was Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. When she was there, she would sing at their enlisted bar’s Friday night karaoke. Then, one evening a former Tops in Blue member told her she had real talent and should think about applying. That night she looked up Tops in Blue and knew from that moment on she wanted to join.
“It was honestly the main reason I had joined the military -- I mean, what a great opportunity!” Hastings said.
When she joined, her first duty station was in Lajes Air Base, Portugal and on the first night she was there her shop took her to the base’s Top of the Rock Club. That club hosted karaoke nights just like Holloman, so Hastings went every day thereafter.
“I was never really sure if I was actually that great at singing or if I had a good voice, but as I kept going to karaoke night, I became more and more confident in myself and my ability to sing,” Hastings said.
Over time, she began to find her own voice to sing the national anthem and write her own songs. It wasn’t until she was stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, that she started getting more requests for bigger events.
Hastings sang the national anthem for the Air Force and Army ball, as well as the JBER and Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region changes of command. She also sings at different local venues ranging from bars to churches.
Within a month of moving to Alaska she joined the Alliance Christian Fellowship church worship team, who perform Christian contemporary music and volunteer locally. Similar to her experience singing in a chorus choir, she said she loved the feeling of singing ‘with’ people and less ‘to’ people.
“Being stationed in Alaska has been the ultimate growing point for me yet,” Hastings said.
Hastings’ goal of joining Tops in Blue was halted when the year she auditioned was their last tour before the program was shut down in 2016. That didn’t stop her from doing what she loved and pursued her singing career even harder by taking more opportunities like singing competitions.
After competing in several karaoke competitions, she entered one hosted by KBER 104.1, a local country-music radio station and won a spot to open for a band at the Alaska State Fair.
“Opening for The Band Perry was exhilarating,” Hastings said. “When I got on stage, all I could see was a sea of smiling faces – I even spotted some of my leadership within the crowd [and] my husband Jesse, who had the biggest grin of them all.
“My favorite part of singing is the feeling that I am singing with the crowd, not for the crowd,” Hastings continued. “To hear a thousand voices singing along with me is the most beautiful sound in the world.”
More than 4,000 people flooded the theater, her largest crowd ever. Unlike many aspiring singers in her position, Hastings has no desire for world-wide fandom, but aims for a more humble, travelling singer-songwriter lifestyle.
“I certainly have a long way to go, but one day, I hope to be in a band, engage with millions of people and travel – bringing joy to the world,” Hastings said.