Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Alexis Stone Lopez was just 17 when she decided to drive from her home in Modesto, Calif., to Los Angeles to try out for a fledgling FOX TV show.

She recalls driving about six hours, then waiting in line from 3 a.m. until noon for her “first big audition,” one that lasted just 40 seconds.

“I skipped a day of school for this, and it was just before finals were going to start,” she says. “I was just a nervous wreck. I had just gotten my license. I just gave it my best.”

Her best was good enough to survive the auditions and American Idol’s first-ever Hollywood Week.

In fact, she made it all the way to the wild card show in the semifinal round before being cut from the show. At the time, Idol allowed just 10 contestants to advance to the finals.

Alexis, now 25, has since moved to Los Angeles, where she’s busy working on a solo album she hopes to release in the summer of 2010.

She’ll also be one of 12 former Idol contestants performing in a show called here for information.

Here’s the Idol Chatter interview with Alexis.

Chatter: You could never have known back when you tried out that American Idol would become such a phenomenon.

Alexis: We had no clue. I mean, when I left, there were only 10 people standing. That was probably the beginning of what I would call the Idol phenomenon. You had no idea. I was excited because I got to sing and this was a FOX show. I didn’t know where it was going to go, but I was just winging it and excited. I was actually appreciative that I got to sing.

Chatter: Seven, eight years later, where are you musically? What’s your sound?

Alexis: Music altogether is a tool. I have bigger dreams that will be accomplished through music. The sound? The genre? I would say it’s alternative. It can be compared to Kelly Clarkson, but it’s actually a little edgier than that. It’s not as heavy as System of a Down or anything. I want to say power singer with a modern rock attitude.

Chatter: What have you done musically since the show?

Alexis: I’ve been doing a lot of different shows. And in recent times, I’ve been doing a lot of charities. There are several groups that help children and that motivate children, and I’ve been really involved with that. Gentle Village is one of them. They are a group that is government funded and they actually have two branches. They rescue animals — all types of different animals — and then they help children who turned 18 and leave the foster system or orphanage and have no place to go. This group is using animals and different techniques to try to broaden each person individually. The children bond with the animal and they take care of it. They get to grow in terms of caring about another being. (A link to Gentle Barn, the sister organization.)

Chatter: And what do you do with that group?

Alexis: I wrote their theme song this year. We’ll be having a show … it’s planned for this spring. So we’ll see how that goes. They’re just getting going. So I want to do as much as I can to promote the place and get anyone I can to help donate.

Chatter: Have you released any music that’s available for download?

Alexis: I have. There are two Christmas songs on iTunes (on the American Christmas album). I have several other things that are about to be released. That stuff will be soon.

Chatter: So what is in the works?

Alexis: A solo project is in the works. I’ve been working day and out. I’ve been practicing. And writing. And I play guitar on it. I actually wrote all the songs. That is exciting because I had to dive deep into me to write. It’s been a growing experience. I probably have enough songs for three or four albums. But you don’t get a second chance on a first impression. There are certain things about me that I know I needed to grow out of. You know what would be a good song to describe it: “The End of the Innocence.” There’s something about Don Henley and the way he presents that whole song that I feel we can all relate to. There’s a point in your life where you have to accept that you’re moving forward and you’re letting go of this phase that you thought was going to last forever. I just been working through that and working on my craft and just singing like a maniac, but it’s all been worth it.

Chatter: Are you releasing that under a label or will it be an independent release?

Alexis: Actually, we have several labels interested. I’m not sure where that’s going to head. I’m pretty sure it won’t be independent, but if it is, I’m open to it.

Chatter: Back in January, there was a notice on your Web site that said you had stepped aside as the lead singer for a band to pursue your solo project. Can you tell me about that?

Alexis: That was actually a really great experience. It was a rock band (Landrum) locally, here in Los Angeles. They lost their singer, so I filled in and actually wrote about 10 of the songs. I filled in for quite some time. We went and performed in several different locations and venues. We got great feedback from it. It was actually kind of hard to part with them because we’d been together for a while. After a certain amount of time, you grow on each other and it felt right. There were just a few things I had to do on my own because I guess you can’t get them out any other way. The guitarist is a great guitarist. He likes to play guitar. He wants maybe more guitar than maybe the songs i write require or allow for. That was the only reason we parted ways. But it was a great experience. I got to work with a live band, which is hard to do these days. They were a quality band.

Chatter: Let’s talk about the American Christmas show you’re going to do. How did you get involved in that venture and what will you be doing?

Alexis: A couple of years back, I got an e-mail from a record label called Chenoa Records. It was out of the blue. It was the president (Joe Cannizzaro) who e-mailed me. He wrote that I needed to get involved in this project. So we got together, and we had a meeting and picked out some songs and went from there. I wrote an original for his (American Christmas) album. I’ll be doing two, no, I guess three songs. I recently wrote a tribute to Michael Jackson. It was actually the day I found out (about Michael’s death). I’ll be singing that. Along with “Winter Winterland.” We did a shuffle remix, a remix version of “Winter Wonderland.” The third song is “An American Christmas.” That’s going to be the one where all the Idols will be out on stage singing together.

Chatter: Tell me about “Indiana Son,” the tribute to Michael Jackson, why you wrote it, what message you were trying to convey.

Alexis: “Indiana Son” … that just kind of fell on me like a ton of bricks, in a good way. I was not a huge Michael Jackson fan. He was entertaining, and I always thought he was really interesting. But there was no real connection until “Man in the Mirror.”

I think I was on some long drive, four or five hours, across California. “Man in the Mirror” came on, and I actually listened to the words for the first time and applied it to my life. I never saw Michael Jackson the same after that. There was just so much in that song that was so selfless, so after the big picture, after something better, after more. He was going to take that pop image and … who cares about the pop image … this is what matters. And I loved that.

Maybe a couple of hours after I found out his health was up in the air, actually, I spent all day watching the news, trying to figure out what really happened. Eventually we went into the studio and actually wrote and recorded that song — “Indiana Son” – in about three hours. And we left it, the original sound, the original vocal, everything. It was just a rough take. And it seemed to move so many people.

So many people have sent me e-mails and messages about how they can relate it to their father, how they can relate it to someone in their life because the whole chorus of the song is about, “I just want to say thank you.” It goes on to specify everything about Michael Jackson, but the way it’s presented, is like “Your life was of value to me. I’m thanking you because you changed me.” That was the core of the song. Joe wanted to put it in the show. So I’m honored to sing it.

Chatter: When you release an album, is that song likely to be on it?

Alexis: There’s a big chance. There’s a lot of talk of different singers re-recording and releasing that song. Hopefully something will go with that. Otherwise, I will definitely put it on my project.

Chatter: Now, are you still an Idol fan?

Alexis: Oh, yeah. I’m an Adam Lambert fan. He’s the rock king of Idol.

Chatter: So who from season eight is going to blow us away with their music?

Alexis: I’m hoping Adam. But you know, Kris has a strong voice, a strong personality and a very undeniably sweet character. So it’s anyone’s guess. And there’s a rock girl, too, Allison. I love watching her.

Chatter: Now, earlier, you said you want to accomplish something through music. What?

Alexis: I know I have issues with certain things that are the way they are, and I would like to address them, eventually. I would like to empower women and change the thinking that is so deeply embedded in girls today. And just different issues that I really aim to address. And you can’t do anything without being noticed first. My goal is to work hard, earn that position, so that I may make my statements.

Chatter: What do you mean, the thinking that’s ingrained in girls?

Alexis: Well I grew up around a lot of girls who second-guessed themselves. They’re a little bit hesitant … a little bit … it’s almost like a fantasy to go after their dream, they wouldn’t really. I just don’t believe in that. I want them to go full steam ahead for it. I just want to encourage that kind of thinking. And I want to make huge strides in it, not just talk about it.

Want to learn more about Alexis and hear “Indiana Son.” Here’s the link to her Web site and a link to Alexis’ MySpace music page.

Alexis will be one of 12 former Idol contestants in the Dec. 5 American Christmas show. The other participants are pictured in the banner below. For previous interviews in this series, follow these links:

Haley Scarnato (season six)

Brandon Rogers (season six)

Lindsey Cardinale (season four)

Nikki McKibbin (season one)