Jaz LeBlanc says friends, family and everyone else she interacts with who have heard her sing have encouraged her to do something with her gift. “Why not do the biggest show there is?” So she tried out for American idol in Galevston and walked away from the auditions with a golden ticket. Jaz says she’s…
Talk about starting out at a young age. Jasmine Antione says she performed her first solo in church at age 2. She led the other children in a rendition of “Jesus Loves Me” as her grandmother played the piano. Jasmine says she comes from a musical family; her mother was also a singer. And she’s…
A year ago, Janelle Arthur was featured in the Austin audition episode and appeared to be one of the finer country voices Idol discovered. She wasn’t shown on this year’s Galveston episode, but got another golden ticket after driving 14 hours from Oliver Springs, Tenn., to try out and said she got “great feedback” from…
Ja’nae Allen figures she’s unique from most Season 11 American Idol contestants in at least two ways. First, she’s a security guard, at age 20. Second, “there’s not many people who are young and nuturing at my age. I have that.” She doesn’t explain how that translates into a golden ticket, but she managed to…
Jacqueline Dunford is back for another go at American Idol, which isn’t too surprising considering how things ended for her in Season 10. Remember Jacqueline? She and boyfriend Nick Fink were featured in a last year’s audition show from Austin, Texas. They were determined to go through the Idol experience together, until he got eliminated…
Isabell Gallegos first performed in front of an audience at her seventh-grade talent show. It wasn’t memorable, at least not in a good way. “I lost horribly,” she recalls. “I didn’t even place. But in eighth grade, I came back and won.” Just two years later, she was auditioning for American Idol in Galveston and…
Imani Handy says she worked hard for her golden ticket, through no fault of the judges. She actually forgot the words to her audition song, then pleaded for a second chance to impress them. Well, they granted her that second chance, and Imani, of McKinney, Texas, got her golden ticket. By that point, Imani had…
Finale — You’ll Never Walk Alone (with Jordan Sparks) Top 4 — I Can’t Make You Love Me Top 4 — Faithfully Top 4 — Eternal Flame (with Jessica Sanchez) Top 5 — River Deep Mountain High Top 5 — Bleeding Love Top 5 — Your Love Takes Me Higher (with Jessica Sanchez and Skylar…
Hannah Anderson auditioned for American Idol as part of a deal. Her brother is in Afghanistan with the U.S. military. He made her agree to try out for American Idol. So there she was in Galveston, earning a golden ticket to Hollywood. OK, she admits, it wasn’t a very fair deal. Hannah says she’s different…
Gabrielle Greene says there wasn’t one thing that prompted her to try out for American Idol in Galveston, but that she was “really excited” to do so. But not as excited as she was after getting her golden ticket. She says that immediately became her favorite American Idol moment. Like many of the Idol contestants…
