Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Jenna Marquis, 19, Simi Valley, Calif., “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus: Jenna showed off a really nice tone as her audition began. Really nice stage presence too as she flips a male song. She entices chair turns from Gwen Stefani and Niall Horan. John Legend soon joins them as well. Gwen loved the fact that she already seems to have a style all her own. Niall congratulated her on a cool, raspy tone and said she chose a difficult song to sing. John loved her pop music potential. Jenna opted to join Team Gwen after announcing that she’s a big fan of the singer.

Here’s more about Jenna:

* She’s a 19-year-old pop artist from Los Angeles who has already released a pair of singles.

* In an American Idol unaired interview, Jenna says she always loved music and had a passion for it growing up. Her dad, who was part of a musical family, had a large role in that.

* She added that she started taking music seriously around age 13 to 14, taught herself piano and started writing her own songs.

* Jenna was 17 when she auditioned for Idol in October 2021 and said producers changed her song at the last moment, asking her to sing Justin Bieber’s “Holy.” She wrote the lyrics on her wrist in case she forgot.

* She wound up getting a unanimous yes from the judges. Katy Perry, one of Jenna’s idols, was particularly complimentary. Katy said Jenna was exactly what she was looking for in a contestant.

* Jenna made it all the way to the Showstoppers round (Top 59), but was eliminated when the judges cut the field to 24.

* The fact that very little of her time on the show aired was “super sad,” Jenna said in a social media post, but she thanked the show for the artistic growth she experienced.

* “I gained confidence in myself again … Being sent home, I was bummed out, but i was so excited for the new version of myself I had found being on the show.”

* She’s since released two singles, “Second Chances” and “Alcohol Can’t Talk,” both of which have more than 50,000 streams on Spotify. “Alcohol Can’t Talk” is approaching 100,000 all on its own. Released in November, you can check it out below.

* And even despite lots of Idol exposure, she’s developed quite a following on social media, including 18,000 followers on Instagram and more than 150,000 followers and 6 million likes on TikTok.

* Jenna is featured in a Niall Smile promo for Season 24, one which suggests her Voice audition might have gone very well. And judging from her Idol unaired interview, her a vibrant personality comes along with her vocal talent.

Jenna on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube