Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Celeste Butler from American Idol Season 19

Here’s more about Celeste …

* Now based in southern California, the 24-year-old grew up in a religious military family.

* The latter meant she moved a lot; the former meant she had a church home wherever her family landed and that’s where she began to explore her musical ability.

* But her first musical revelation came at age 10 when she watched “Dreamgirls,” she told Quadio.com. Forbidden at the time from watching anything not rated PG or listening to secular music, she nevertheless became determined to learn “Listen” by Beyonce.

* “My sister caught me practicing ‘Listen’ secretly in the bathroom and was like, ‘Wait, you can actually really sing!’ My memory is, she told my parents,” Celeste told the site.

* The next revelation came when she landed in a community theater production of Peter Pan in the non-speaking role of “Indian Number Four.” “I had my little dance feature and that was the moment it all clicked. Opening night I had already decided, ‘Okay, this is what I want to do.'”

* At age 16, she joined a girls group in Los Angeles. That group auditioned for The X Factor, but eventually broke up.

* She attended the University of Southern California, majoring in popular music performance. While there, she formed a funk-soul band that performed “anywhere and everywhere we could.”

* Celeste eventually enrolled in USC’s master’s program as well, graduating in 2019.

* To date, she’s released two singles — a vocal tour de force called “Chosen” in 2017 and a song called “No Peace” last summer. The latter is a collaboration with Jacob Martin, released in response to George Floyd’s death. You can check it out below.

* About that song, Celeste told The Daily Trojan: “At the end of the day, I do want it to be a source of love, as opposed to something that I’m putting out to be divisive or add fuel to the fire. I’d rather it be something that opens the door for conversations to be had, to increase understanding.”

* While in the master’s program at USC, Celeste also started a company called Creation Against Barriers. “It’s literally that,” she told Quadio. “It’s music, fashion, and event-based projects that help break down barriers. Whether it’s mental barriers, emotional barriers or societal or creative barriers — we try to make sure that all the projects we take on are in alignment with that objective.”

Celeste on social media:
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