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“I would sneak into his iTunes and memorize songs from the great singers of Motown and the ‘60s and ‘70s …

There’s something about Madison Madison Madison> >

MADISON BAEZ IS A 10-YEAR-OLD FIREBALL.

Energetic and spirited - with sparkling eyes, happy laughter, and a power-packed voice – she could be a real-life Pixar creation.

She’s only in fifth grade, but has collected a canon of accomplishments, including a Christmas album and commercials for McDonald’s, Walmart, and FujiFilm.

She’s performed the national anthem for the Harlem Globetrotters and many of L.A.’s professional athletic teams, including the Dodgers, Rams, and Lakers. In 2018 she went viral and became known to the internet as, “Anthem Girl.”

She’s appeared on “Kids Say the Darndest Things” and “Game of Talents”.

She’s got the world at her feet.

That’s not to say she hasn’t yet overcome adversity.

When Madison was three years old, her father was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. She began singing to him between chemo treatments and surgeries to comfort him. And the rest is history.

“I would sneak into his iTunes and memorize songs from the great singers of Motown and the ‘60s and ‘70s … so I could go to the hospital and sing them to him,” she said. “That was my motivation to keep on singing, and I never stopped.”

The first song she learnt is one her father taught her – “A Change is Gonna Come.” A few years later, he came home one day, taught her the national anthem in 15 minutes, sent the video to the Lakers and that was that.

Most recently, she took on the task of transforming into one of the world’s lost sweethearts – Selena.

In 2018, Netflix announced it would be premiering a series chronicling the singer’s early life and the Quintanilla family’s fight to the top.

Madison spent three months auditioning against almost 5,000 other girls, performing scenes and songs in both Spanish and English. Her mom was the first to learn she’d snagged the spot. She called Madison’s father, who was coaching soccer practice at that moment and was outwardly shocked at the report.

“My mom told him the news, and he blurted out a bad word in front of the girls,” she said, giggling. “Everybody just stopped and looked at him … I was really excited and amazed.”

Madison admits she knew little about Selena before auditions. But her parents told her everything, and she began studying Selena’s music and dancing. Being Filipino and Hispanic, Madison connects to Selena the same way many do.

“She was an amazing singer and an amazing person … She’s still a role model to me and so many other people,” said Madison. “The way she started out and where she got to, I think [that’s] why people still love her.”

Positive role models are crucial, and Madison surrounds herself with women and girls who uplift her. On set, Madison says she bonded with Daniela Estrada, a.k.a. young Suzette Quintanilla.

“It felt like we were actually sisters!” she said excitedly. “It’s important for girls to be nice to other girls … it’s a support system,” she said of Daniela and her other friends.

At home, she looks up to her mother, who takes care of her (which she implies is a big job!), works and cleans the house but remembers to have fun, said Madison. “[She] inspires me.”

When she watched Selena: The Series, both with cast and crew and later with friends, Madison loved seeing everyone’s hard work fused together. “It was amazing how all these months of filming and everything we were doing got put together … [it] showed how much Selena means to everybody.”

The series has wrapped, but Madison has the whole world ahead of her, planning to do additional television and film, more vocal albums and someday a concert.

Just like her favorite Selena song, “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” which she calls fun because there’s “just something about it” . The same rings true for Madison herself: There’s just something about her. Z