Idol Chatter & Voice Views

If American Idol doles out an award for most congenial contestant in Season 12, it just might go to Rachel Hale.

Judges were certainly impressed by her vocals on “People Get Ready” during the Long Beach audition episode.

But they also complimented Rachel on her bubbly persona and her positive spirit.

Apparently, the 21-year-old song-writing major at Belmont University is just an upbeat person.

She was also smiling and laughing throughout an interview with FOX17 in Nashville, the day after the audition aired.

Even when she was talking about how “crazy” and “daunting” the Hollywood round appeared.

“I’m just going to practice as many songs, learn as many songs as I can and get a lot of rest now because I don’t know if I’ll get any when I get there,” she said. “I’m going in with a positive attitude. I think that’s the best way to do it.”

The strategy paid off, though just barely.

Rachel had to win a sing-off against returning contestant Britnee Kellogg to secure the final spot among the top 20 female singers who advanced to this week’s Las Vegas round.

In her Road to Hollywood video, Rachel says she had “an epiphany moment” when she was young, deciding she wanted to write and sing songs “to make a difference and help people get through whatever they’re going through.”

She told FOX17 she probably started singing around age 3 in church, but it wasn’t until she was 10 that she took music seriously and started singing at festivals.

Rachel is from Prescott, Ark., and attended the Arkansas (High) School for Mathematics, Science and the Arts before heading off to Belmont.

Her real first name is Kimberly, but she goes by her middle name. “It’s kind of a southern thing to do, I’ve heard,” she told the Idol judges.

In 2011, she released a country single to iTunes called “Football is King.” You can check that out below.

Of her appearance on Idol, Rachel says: “I really want to encourage people that no matter where you’re from — even if you’re from a town of 3,500 people, like me — or what you’re going through, if you have a dream and feel like God put it in your heart, like I did at a young age, then go after it and do it.”

Now, here’s Rachel’s audition, followed by a couple of originals, including the aforementioned single.

“People Get Ready” (Idol audition)