For the first twenty three years of his life, Brydon Brett’s real passion had nothing to do with music. “My first love was basketball,” he remembers. “I would take my basketball to the movies; to school…I would even sleep with my basketball. Anything – including music – that kept me from pursuing basketball was an annoyance.” Brydon’s dedication to the round ball ultimately earned him numerous scholarship offers to colleges all around the country. His proficiency as a coach and clinician lead him to film an instructional DVD called Brydon Brett’s Next Level Ballhandling, which aided in the recruiting process and sold thousands of copies. But basketball did more for Brydon than just scholarship offers and DVD sales. “Through basketball I learned how to work, how to set goals, and how to discipline myself,” he says. “And now that I’m no longer playing, I’m finding it easy to channel that same work ethic toward music, business, and all of the other exciting ambitions I have.” And ambitions he does have. Brydon’s bucket list includes stops at Madison Square Garden, book publishing, keynote speaking, song writing, and a host of other visionary goals. As he puts it: “I have moderate plans to...change the world.”

As mentioned, while Tom and Andrea were singing together in the Dallas metroplex, and while Briahna was rushing to dance lessons, piano lessons, and play rehearsals, Brydon was attending basketball camps, clinics, games, practices, or practicing on his own. He performed and rehearsed for performances with the family, but it was difficult for him not to view music as a distraction to his professional basketball aspirations. He started and stopped piano lessons twice, and never learned how to read music until he turned twenty four. “We thought it was important for each of the kids to have some kind of discipline they could focus on,” Andrea remembers. “For Briahna, it was music and dance, but for Brydon it was basketball, so we did our very best to support him in every way we could while never forcing music on him.” Even though he sometimes resented the family singing group idea, Brydon always enjoyed being on stage, and he was a natural. “I had to sing some really cheesy songs some times,” he says. “But, truth be told, I really enjoyed the stage, and I knew that if I focused on it like I did on basketball, I could be really good.”

After graduating high school, Brydon attended a junior college in St. Louis, MO with plans to play a year of basketball before leaving for his two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But after sustaining an ankle injury during tryouts, he decided to leave early for his mission. The next two years of his life were spent in Portland, OR, where he learned further lessons about service, hard work, discipline, and focus. “My mission was a transformational experience for me,” he says. “It was easily the best thing I’ve done to date.” Upon returning, Brydon renewed his relationships with many of the schools who had recruited him out of high school, and he eventually decided to attend Southern Virginia University to play basketball. He played one successful year during the 2007-2008 season, but it was hard for him to put his whole heart into basketball like he had before his mission. “I found myself thinking more and more about my future, and basketball didn’t seem to fit anymore,” he remembers. “Eventually, I felt strongly like I was supposed to take my time and talents and focus them elsewhere.” After making the difficult decision to quit basketball, Brydon began to see a clear vision of what he and his family could do with their entertainment endeavor. “I finally saw that this ‘Brett Family Show’ thing was perfect for everything I wanted to do with my life,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the world, and now I view this as the perfect platform to help transform millions of lives.”

Since quitting basketball, Brydon has been in a developmental Nascar of sorts. He was the lead role (Moses) in Southern Virginia University’s production of a musical called, Stone Tables. He is the acting president of The Fading Point, the university’s premiere acapella group, which travels all around the east coast performing and recruiting for the college. He is in the university’s Chamber Choir, and he still travels many weekends to do tour dates with The Brett Family. He is finally learning how to play the piano. He is writing original music, and his abilities as an emcee and humorist have improved exponentially. He is currently working on several speaking presentations for youth, and he is in the process of writing at least two books, which will be the first of many he has plans to write. A versatile vocalist and entertainer, he draws frequent comparisons to Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, and even Justin Timberlake. As a humorist, he is often compared to a young Tommy Smothers, and his onstage antics create a great comical contrast during every show. He has also recorded a solo album called, Back to Basics, which includes standards from Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, and some soulful favorites from Donny Hathaway and others. He will graduate in May 2010 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Leadership, after which he will return to “build the Brett Family entertainment empire,” as he puts it.

With lessons learned on the hardwood being applied to a new stage, truly the future is bright for this rising young star.

Brydon's Profile

Birthday: October 24

Artistic Influences: Frank Sinatra, Earth, Wind and Fire, John Legend, Michael Buble, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill

Sounds Like: Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Justin Timberlake

Favorite Artists: Earth, Wind and Fire, Elliot Yamin, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, Anybody Motown, Taylor Swift, Michael Buble

Movies: All kinds of live concerts, Monsters Inc., We Are Marshall, The Pistol, etc.

Books: All Holy Scripture, Pop Music and Morality, The War of Art, The Power of Positive Thinking

Hobbies: Basketball; Singing; Songwriting; Playing piano; Creating music; Reading; Watching movies with family; Family reunions!

Schooling: Senior at Southern Virginia University; Studying Business Management and Leadership

Watch video of Brydon in action