Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Lauren Mascitti, 27, of Nashville, performs an original song for the judges on American Idol Season 18. (ABC Photo)

Luke Bryan was already familiar with Shawn. But the judges soon embraced Lauren, who graced them with an original called “If I Can Lose You.”

Katy Perry called her performance “very moving.” Lionel Richie praised her “story-telling ability.” Luke Bryan thinks she has the capability to hold a room with her style. And she unanimously advanced to Hollywood.

Lauren, 27, of Nashville, had never tried a singing show like American Idol before, but she’s sure been busy musically.

She released four solo albums before age 12 and has four others available on streaming sites. The latest, “God Made a Woman” just came out in January.

Here’s what Lauren told Idol Chatter about her new music American Idol audition experience.

Idol Chatter: How did you wind up auditioning for American Idol Season 18 (Season 3 on ABC) and what prompted you to do it this year? Had you ever tried a singing show in the past?

Lauren: Actually, someone on the show saw my videos on Instagram and YouTube and encouraged me to audition! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but never did for one reason or another, maybe a fear to actually jump in and just do it. But I did and it happened! In the past, at the age of 16, I was in the Top 8 for INSP’s “Christian Artist Talent Search, but have not been on any other singing shows.

Idol Chatter: Why did you decided to perform an original for your audition song? And then, more specifically, why “If I Can Lose You” as the original song you performed?

Lauren: I decided to do an original song because we only have a short amount of time to show these judges who we are and what makes us different, so what better way to do that than to play something I created and wrote from my heart? Being a songwriter is a huge part of who I am. As much as I am a singer, I am a songwriter, so I really wanted that to come out in my audition. I chose “If I Can Lose You” because it just felt right. It was the most recent song I had written at the time and I really felt that the emotional words and melody would draw the judges in.

Idol Chatter: What was that audition experience like? You got wonderful feedback from the judges. And was it beneficial having your fiancé and writing partner in the room with you for the occasion?

Lauren: The audition experience was a feeling I’ve never felt before! Excitement, nerves, anticipation, and the unknown all wrapped into one moment! I was honored to get such a great response from the judges. I respect all of them immensely and am grateful for the kind words and encouragement they gave. It was wonderful getting to have my fiancé, Shawn, there with me. Just knowing that I had his love and support backing me up made me so much more relaxed than I would’ve been without him. Being able to celebrate my “golden ticket moment” with him made it even sweeter!

Idol Chatter: And can you tell me a bit about your new album “God Made a Woman” and what you think sets it apart from your previous releases? By the way, I absolutely love “The Words He Never Said,” which I believe is a song you wrote.

Lauren: Thank you so much! I am very proud of my newest release “God Made a Woman”. My fiancé, Shawn Camp, produced it, and we recorded it with our band that we perform with. The cool thing that I love about it is that, instead of recording the band part and the vocals separately, I recorded my vocals for the most part while the band was tracking it. So I could feed off of the band and the band could feed off of me. And the little nuances, the highs and lows of the songs, are organic. I also love that the inspiration for the songs came from my life. I wrote most of the songs on the record and I drew from my experiences at work (I am a registered nurse), my journey finding and falling in love with Shawn, and my incredible Nana who is also my mother (she adopted and raised me). We are very proud of the record!

For more on Lauren, her background in music and her social media links, head here.

Editor’s Note: Hollywood Week begins Monday on American Idol as all the golden ticket recipients return for another shot at impressing the judges. The fun starts at 8 p.m. on ABC.