She’s a vegetarian working as a meat packer. And that’s just one of three jobs held by Orem, Utah, resident Haley Smith, who also works as a busser in a restaurant and as a house cleaner. No wonder she was trying to win a golden ticket to Hollywood when American Idol visited Aspen. The then-18-year-old…
Friends advised Jairon Jackson against singing an original song during his American Idol audition because it wasn’t well-known. The lad from Denver, Colorado, ignored that advice and performed his R&B ballad “So Hard” anyway. The risk paid off in a golden ticket and high praise from the judges during the Aspen audition episode. “Very nice,…
Could a young male country singer win American Idol for a second straight year? Well, Richie Lawson of Centennial, Colorado, has a deep voice working in his favor, and that did the trick for Scotty McCreery. We got to hear that voice very briefly in the Aspen audition episode, when Richie won the judges over…
Mathenee Treco says it’s a “weird stroke of fate” that led him to audition for American Idol. The 25-year-old just happened to be in area helping his sister move into a new home and was about to start a new job when Idol came searching for singers in Aspen. “I thought, ‘OK, this is a…
American Idol often spotlights the youngest contestants trying to make a name for themselves as singers. That was certainly true earlier this year, in the Savannah auditions, for example. In a change of pace, Idol featured a couple of singers taking their last shot at stardom — at least via this route — in its…
Ramiro Garcia says his rationale for auditioning for American Idol in Season 11 was simple. He’s 28, meaning this is the last year he’s eligible. Besides, Idol happened to land in his hometown of Houston, looking for aspiring singers. And this aspiring singer has a unique story, probably the most unique we’ve seen so far…
I sorta felt bad for Linda Williams after Thursday’s edition of American Idol. She’s the 24-year-old bartender from League City, Texas, who was part of a four-gal montage during the Galveston episode and the only one to receive a golden ticket. The implication was clear. The other three could sing better, but she wound up…
When I listened to Kellie Pickler’s new album, I got a little worried. I mean, no songs about calamarie or shoe shopping. A more serious, grownup Kellie. Would she show up on Ellen Friday afternoon and have a serious chat about the direction of her new music? About why she shied away from county-pop for…
The second single off Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” album looks like it’s going to be a bigger hit than the first. The song formerly known as “What Doesn’t Kill You” and now known as “Stronger” has been the most downloaded single on iTunes for the past two days. It was number three on Billboard’s digital download…
On a night when female singers stole the limelight in Idol’s audition episode from Texas, Cortez Shaw offered a ray of light for the guys. OK, the start of his version of Adele’s “Someone Like You” wasn’t that great. But once he hit the chorus … wow. Cortez brought with him a hard-luck story that…
