Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Layla Spring, a Season 16 standout, is returning for American Idol Season 18

And among the singers we’ll see is Layla Spring, who lots of fans will likely remember from Season 16.

Here’s more about Layla.

* She’s a country singer who was just 16 when she auditioned for Season 16 and made it all the way to the Top 24, partly by showing her versatility with a spunky Showcase Round performance of “Proud Mary.”

* She showed up in the audition room that year with her 7-year-old sister Dyxie and earned a unanimous golden ticket to Hollywood with a performance of the Jackson 5’s “Who’s Loving You.”

* Though she didn’t make the voting rounds, Layla was invited back for the Season 16 finale — along with Dyxie — to sing a duet with LeAnn Rimes.

* As recently as October, Layla expressed concern about auditioning again. In a YouTube video, she said she feared a second time on Idol wouldn’t be the same considering the lifelong friendships she made with fellow contestants the first time around.

* Well, Idol managed to lure her out of retirement. She was one of three past favorites — Logan Johnson and Shawn Robinson were the others — invited to film a special audition at the Whiskey A Go-Go in L.A.

* Layla went country for that performance, covering Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away.” You can check out the full performance below.

* Snippets of those auditions were broadcast during the American Music Awards, fans voted, and the results were announced on the next night’s finale of Dancing with the Stars. Layla was the fan favorite and earned an automatic golden ticket to Hollywood.

* Layla hails from Marion County, Kentucky. She hasn’t released music yet, but she’s working on it. She posted a photo of herself from the recording studio in mid-December. Then, on Jan. 16, she announced her first single will be a song called “Love Light.” She didn’t spill on a release date.

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