Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We weren’t introduced to Kree Harrison on American Idol until the final Hollywood episode.

But it was quite an introduction as she delivered a wonderful version of Grace Potter’s “Stars.”

It marked a bold song choice for a 22-year-old Texan who’s been singing country music since she was 3 and now lives in Nashville.

But it worked. Kree is one of 20 females headed to Vegas to vie for a spot in the Idol semifinals.

Judging from her Facebook bio, it sounds as though Kree has been on the verge of breaking out as a country artist on a couple of occasions.

She was 7 when a friend recorded her performance at the Broken Spoke Saloon — gotta love that name — and sent it to the Rosie O’Donnell Show.

Kree wound up being invited to appear on a Most Talented Kids episode and wound up making a guest appearance on the show three more times before she was 12.

She eventually landed a development deal with Lyric Street Records and a publishing deal with Chrysalis, though a debut album never materialized.

But, as we heard on Idol, she also had to deal with more than her share of tragedy as she was growing up.

Her father died in a plane crash when she was 12; her mother died in a car crash when she was 19.

On Idol, Kree said her mother was her prime source of motivation, pushing her “in all the right ways.” And she said she sang “Stars” because it reminded her of her mom.

As for Idol, Kree says her sister pushed her to audition.

“I realize that you — with anything, especially tragedy — have to move forward and take the positive out of a negative situation,” she says in her Road to Hollywood video.

Performing is “an outlet,” she says. So is songwriting, something she’s been doing since she learned to play guitar shortly after her father’s death. In fact, she co-wrote one of the songs below — “You Would’ve Wanted It That Way” — from the perspective of a child who has lost a parent.

For more from Kree, head here or to her Facebook page, where you’ll find another excellent original, “I Still Don’t Know What Love Is.”

“Tennessee Waltz”

“You Would’ve Wanted It That Way” (original)

“P’s and Q’s” (original)