Kennedy Grey is yet another of those East Coasters who would up getting a golden ticket in Portland after initially auditioning in New Jersey. She said friends kept urging her to try out, probaby in part because of her work. Kennedy is a waitress at Tapastry, a restaurant/cafe in Montclair, N.J., and a regular behind…
Kayla Thornton has a more unusual story than most on how she wound up at the American Idol Season 11 auditions. She couldn’t afford to make it to one of the audition sites, so she wasn’t going to try out. But her dad kept encouraging her, then sold some cattle to pay for her trip…
Haley Johnson’s rationale for auditioning for American Idol Season 11 was pretty simple. The show came to her. Well, to Portland, Oregon, more specifically. But as a resident of Beaverton, a graduate of the high school there and a student at Oregon State University, that made it mighty convenient. “They’re always telling me, ‘Haley, you can…
One of the talented teens we didn’t get to meet in the Portland audition episode of American Idol was Aubrey Cleland of Westfield, Oregon, 18 at the time of the Idol tryouts. Aubrey also made Hollywood in Season 10 and said that’s what inspired her to come back — to prove to herself and the…
Romeo Diahn certainly has a background different than any other Idol contestants. He was born in Liberia, where civil war broke out in 1990. His dad, an immigration commander, managed to get the family to a refugee camp in Ghana. From there, they hoped to make their way to the United States. They did, but not until…
If Jessica Phillips’ story on the Portland audition episode of American Idol reminded you of Chris Medina, you’re not alone. Watching Chris’ story on Season 10, about how his fiance had been severely injured in a tragic car crash, spoke to Jessica in a way most Idol viewers can’t imagine. That’s because she found herself in…
