Erika David performs Alicia Keys; “No One” for the American Idol judges. (FOX Photo)
She also predicted Jennifer Lopez would like the sassiness in her performance.
Wow, talk about an accurate prediction, and it’s a good thing Erika was right.
We saw just a snippet of her cover of Alicia Key’s “No One” because Erika was presented as part of a three-singer montage.
But Harry Connick Jr. said she looked like a confident young woman the minute she walked into the room and, after she displayed her big voice on the song, “sassy” was the first word out of Jennifer’s mouth.
But Erika nearly didn’t make it to Hollywood. Harry cast a yes vote, but Keith voted no, leaving her fate in Jennifer’s hands.
Jennifer said she had some work to do, but expressed confidence she could do that work before the Hollywood round began. And, with that, Erika was Hollywood bound.
Idol identified her as a 25-year-old hotel representative from Fremont, Calif.
What the show didn’t show: Erika has been singing since age 3 and continued to hone her vocal skills through choir and school plays, according to her website bio.
Then, a couple years ago, she started posting video covers on YouTube, sometimes rewriting lyrics and adding her own jazzy touch.
How did that work out? Well, she has more than 224,000 YouTube subscribers and has racked up more than 45 million views of her videos, with covers of J. Holiday’s “Bed” and Ne-Yo’s “Do You” among her most popular.
Now, of course, she’s trying to make as big a splash with her own music. Head to iTunes and you can find a single (“Climax) and Christmas song (“You, This Christmas) she released in 2012. Head to her website, and you can download eight Erika David tunes for free. Head to her YouTube channel and you can check out a mix of covers and originals.
Among her inspirations, she names Pharrell and Lady Gaga for their creativity and Keri Hilson for her vocal style.
“I come from a family of singers, although I think I take it more seriously,” Erika writes in that bio. “I would definitely say that the encouragement and support has been there since day one.”
Here are some Erika links, followed by samples of her music.
Website
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter: @ErikaDavid
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