By Abigail Cukier, News Staff

Halle Tator has one heck of a ‘How I Spent my Summer Vacation’ story to tell classmates next week.

Odds are though, that her classmates and teachers already know.

In case you missed Halle’s story posted across the internet or on national news this week, she was plucked from the audience at the Aug. 24 Bruce Springsteen concert in Toronto to sing with the superstar in front of 40,000 fans.

She’s also my niece.

Halle’s dad, my brother Sender and I, are both huge Springsteen fans. He has waited for the day he could bring his whole family to a show.  He and  my sister in law Lisa, Halle, 10,  and her eight-year-old brother Shayne had a spot right in front of the stage.

Because we knew Springsteen makes it a habit of pulling kids onstage during the song Waitin’ On a Sunny Day, Halle had prepared – just in case – by practising the song for about a week and brought along a sign asking if she could sing it.

When Springsteen started singing the song , he was at the other end of the stage and halfway through, ran over to the other side and pulled her up.

She nailed it.

In front of a packed Rogers Centre, she belted out the chorus as her face filled the Jumbotron. My husband and I screamed feverishly from our seats and proudly told nearby spectators she was our niece. (See it here http://youtu.be/QgpSQu1oO24)

“I wasn’t nervous because I was telling myself that it was just me and Bruce Springsteen onstage and he wasn’t judging how I sang. It was just for fun,” Halle told me later.

When she finished, Springsteen gave her a kiss and carried her back to her spot, just before saying “Canada’s got talent.” In fact, some reviewers thought she was a plant, including the Toronto Star’s Ben Rayner who called her “suspiciously talented.”

After my brother e-mailed Rayner to inquire about any photos the Star might have taken, a reporter did a story on Halle’s brush with fame. None of us were prepared for what came next.

Halle has been on CBC, Global News, CityTV, Canada AM and CTV News, both in Toronto and nationally. She has also been on  radio stations and numerous websites, including Yahoo.ca and the Huffington Post.

Halle has shone in all of her interviews. Showing off her sweet personality, intelligence and confidence. I am so proud to be her aunt.

“I always felt I’d be on TV and on the news, but I never knew I’d be doing this at age 10,” Halle said, reflecting on her whirlwind week.

Halle has been entertaining our family for years with her singing and dancing. She dreams of being a singer or actress when she grows up. In fact, she has taken vocal lessons for three years, as well as piano and guitar. She has appeared in many local and school productions, including starring as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

I have no doubt Halle will grow up to do whatever she wants.

But first, she will start Grade 5 next week.