Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We only saw a small snippet of Laurel Wright’s audition during the American Idol episode from Salt Lake City.

But Laurel arrived in the audition room with a pretty impressive pre-show resume.

Laurel Wright earned a ticket to Hollywood at the American Idol auditions in Salt Lake City. (FOX Photo)

According to her ReverbNation bio, she won the 30th annual Texaco Country Showdown held at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville two years ago.

Oh, and that original song she sang for her audition — “One Day” — well, it’s one of two singles from Laurel that you can download from iTunes. The other is “How Momma Raised Me,” which was released in December.

Despite all her experience performing, the 18-year-old from Maryville, Tenn., says she was super nervous auditioning in front of the Idol judges.

“They saw past my nervousness,” she says in her Road to Hollywood video. “I was really thankful for that.”

Laurel said she picked up a guitar and wrote her first song at age 10, after being inspired by Taylor Swift’s debut album.

“I think I’m unique because I write my own songs and play guitar,” Laurel says. “I find inspiration in the people around me. And the relationships I see that are growing or falling apart.

“Plus, the words I can’t say to someone, I can put them in a song. That’s my way of dealing with things.”

According to that ReverbNation page, Laurel’s songbook now includes more than 50 tunes.

And while she might not have picked up a guitar until 10, she apparently released a gospel CD at age 7.

If you’d like to follow Laurel, here are links to her Facebook page and Twitter account (@laurelwrightxo).

Now for some music from Laurel, including a country showdown performance.

For profiles of more than 90 other Season 13 contestants, head here.

“Miss Me in Pictures”

“Can’t You See”

Country Showdown performance

“It Is What It Is” (Kasey Musgraves cover)